#and this is without getting as far as project avalon

[feltpool]

He’ll be back!!

First they dress him to resemble Grievous, BD-1, etc

Then they give him Ash’s dialogue from Alien

Now they’ve made him look like the Terminator

(I’m dying here 😂 )

[elevant39]

Ace combat zero and Avalon

So.... I have decided to get into the myth of Arthur (just to get some references in ACZ). And while I am still not that far in I already see some nice connections. So I choose to look more at the AWWNB part, mostly because I feel like it´s sometimes overlooked do to the fact it was kinda rushed (and also because I found them really interesting). But even then there are some things that I think are worth posting here. But (for now) I choose to look at the irony that is the Avalon dam. So the most obvious reason why Avalon was chosen is because it´s the place where Arthur dies/falls into endless sleep (sorry for spoilers bro). But that is not where the connections end.

Nice adaptation detail in the game is the fact that in the original myth you need to set an a long voyage across the sea because Avalon is an island. This was adapted in the form of river that you need to "sail" accros in you jet (+ they could get a canyon run out of it).

Also the fact that in the myth Avalon is an island (one of the few places that have natural borders).... The irony that a AWWNB has it´s base of operation in Avalon is honestly kinda funny. It's almost like their ideas (and AWWNB as a whole) are build on contradictions. Which if you do look into the motives of the members they kinda are, Wizard 1, Gault 1 and Sorcerer 1 but even Pixy and Espada 2 all have different reasons for why they created/joined AWWNB. There is also the fact (on wiki) that ironically Gault 1 was really patriotic (that being said I was not able to find the source of this info so take it with a sight of salt). But I won´t get into this topic here. Speaking of Gault 1. He was a researcher in Avalon for something called Project Pendragon (V2). However there is also some implication in the Perfect guide that he might have worked on Excalibur (it´s mentioned that he worked on “chemical laser cannon”(this could be talking about both Morgan and Excalibur) and a “mass retaliation weapon” (this is about V2) among other things). If this is true this can also tie back into the myth. Since Excalibur (or Caledfwlch) was created in Avalon. (Speaking of perfect guide there are some interesting informations about aces in interviews, they do help with understanding some characters more + some more lore. Here is a translated link if you didn´t know about them: https://www.skywardfm.com/aczpg-ace-pilot-profiles) Now I will get into the more speculative side of my thought here. From what I could find Avalon is seen as a fairyland that is later in myth run by non other that Morgan le Fey (I might get to our fairy king some day, becuase the connections this guy has to fairies are pretty funny...). However and I do think this was a coincidence. But you could say that Avalon was a fairyland of AWWNB. A place where they (for the max of 6 months, before the attack on Lumin) were able to live together with other pilots no matter their place of origin or nationality (kinda fulfilling their goal in this one dam,it was basically an echo chamber for them)... A place without war that can´t exist in Stangereal, hence why it´s just a fairyland. And this is probably everything that I can think of now. So I hope you liked my thoughts (and that I don´t look insane from sharing them).

[dnvdk]

Ethics, entrepreneurship, progress and pacifism Three images, two situations, simultaneously printed in today's newspaper. One of a Dutch soldier named Ewout (28) that perished while training in Germany, an accident that has 'stirred the peace of his local community'. The other two are joined at the hip as they are of outgoing/resigned Dutch defense minister Kajsa Ollongren visiting President Zelensky of Ukraine and one of the tech entrepreneurs in her delegation; Maurits Korthals Altes, founder of Avalon AI. This company specializes in robotic autonomous systems for persistent reconnaissance and has a background at Delft Technical University. In the video from last year Maurits explains in high detail why these unmanned ground- and aerial vehicles with advanced AI are so important: they will save lives as the fleet of systems will form a modern day equivalent to the 'circle the wagon' trope. Or in his own words; "Who can have anything against a solution like this?" explaining how all of this would remain fiction if not for their start-up to slay these problems and generate autonomous safety systems. Little more than a year later and that protective, defensive system is hailed as the new breakthrough to help Ukraine defeat Russia with drones that can detect enemy combatants and guide heavy artillery to where it will do the most damage. The shit end of that stick is off course the increase in casualties on the Russian side; boys and men like Ewout (28), sent to a battlefield far away from their loved ones. And this cynical cycle just continues, speeds up, worsens and is on a certain trajectory to escalate to a point of no return. Politicians resemble Silicon Valley executives with slick presentations and a blind trust in innovation while that good 'ol diplomacy lost all traction if it ever had any. The fact that the EU has fully and completely merged with NATO without acknowledging the glaringly obvious elephant in the room - being that the largest NATO partner not residing on the continent and having hardly any skin at all in this game. While geopolitically, the US has an obvious incentive to destabilize one of its two economic rivals all while humming the old Cold War tune of the danger of the Soviet Union. Which brings the circle back to today's news media. Unaware of its own ignorance it simultaneously delivers empathy porn for 'someone who could have been your next door neighbor' while presenting the slick, engineer-enabled death cult propaganda that resonates with this joke of a society's obsession with gadgets. I'm not here to name names and take sides, the narrative that Russia was provoked by decades of moving NATO-goalposts is quite simple to agree with but clearly a similar cynicism is projected through the lens of a different ideology on that side too. Russia will never be defeated by Ukraine alone, is far too rich in natural resources to lose any of their allies and with a compensation of about 20 year salaries for every deceased soldier, the local population is also not as adversed to the war as could be expected. Threatening with nuclear strikes still seems like a standard geopolitical tool from the playbook and mutually assured destruction still is a surprisingly effective system but the war pigs smell blood and it will run, one way or another. And newspapers and TV broadcasts only fuel this fire by endlessly regurgitating talking points of governments without any critical reflection on what is being said. It all feels very much like that fourth turning but the amount of systems that need to grind to a halt to get over this hurdle and move us as civilizations into the next phase is almost unimaginable. Carry on I guess.

[chrancecriber]

Radio SunLounge Romania (March 04, 2023)

23:56 User's Atmosphere - Share Your Dreams 23:50 Jen Meets Kieser Velten - Together 23:42 Blank & Jones - Happiness (Franco De Mulero Main Mix) (With Cathy Battistessa) 23:42 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 23:37 D. Batistatos - Sunset At Noon 23:34 Florent Campana, Marilyne Justin - I Am Showing Through (Original Mix) 23:30 Photo In Lounge - Have A Good Time 23:23 Michael E - Are We There Yet 23:22 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 23:18 Chris Le Blanc Feat. Liz June - Enjoy Your Life 23:13 Darshan - Listen 23:09 Man In A Room - L'entre Jeux 23:06 Weekend Players - Angel 23:06 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 23:01 Flunk - Blue Monday 22:57 Chase & Status - What Is Right 22:53 Blue Pilots Project - Vivere 22:48 Cities Of Foam - Without You 22:48 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 22:42 Daniele Nacci - Travelling Drops 22:37 Pnfa - Water Path (Original Mix) 22:30 Sub - Missions - Four Horizons 22:24 Vargo - Get Back To Serenity (Beach Mix) 22:24 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 22:19 Velvet Dreamer - A New Day 22:16 Waldeck - Make My Day 22:12 Light Of Aiden - Loving You 22:09 Superhumanoids - Bad Weather (Tropics Remix) 22:08 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 22:03 The Ls Project - Le Voyage De La Vie 21:57 Kusuma Orchestra - A Glittering Mosaic 21:54 Approaching Black, Avalon Mia - Fade Away With You 21:50 Soundset City - Come With Me (Deep Lounge Cut) (Deep Lounge Cut) 21:45 Dj Torby Feat Christina Stoeger - The Moment 21:39 Lemongrass - Magnificent 21:33 Christophe Goze - Some Day I Will 21:27 Jeff Bennet's Lounge Experience Feat. Alexandra - Sympathy 21:22 Blank & Jones - Good 21:17 3rd Force - Here Comes The Night 21:12 Newton - French Kisses 21:07 Soleil Fisher - Warm Winter (Sting Of Paradise Sunset Mix) 21:02 Gary B - Time To Slow It Down 20:58 Atthis Alcedo - Feel What You Feel 20:53 Gaba Milani - Open Your Eyes (Original Mix) 20:47 Good Chillaz - No Motion (Jazz Relax Mix) 20:47 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 20:42 Jose Delgado - Sal Rossa (Original Mix) 20:37 Polished Chrome - Beautiful 20:33 Seoan - Far From Paradise (Heaven Voices Mix) 20:28 Living Room - Underwater Love (Original Mix) 20:22 Baghira - Streams Of Love 20:16 Arrojas - La Jolie (Original Mix) 20:11 Friendly Breaks - Morning Lounge (Groovy Chillout Mix) (Groovy Chillout Mix) 20:06 Mandalay - Beautiful (7 Canny Mix) 19:59 Dos Buratinos - Control U Inbox (Take Control Remix) 19:53 Sky Sergeant - Holograms (Electric Slide Mix) 19:49 Smoove & Turrell - The Difference 19:44 Adani & Wolf - The Moment (Original Mix) 19:40 G - Spliff - Won't Part 19:34 Noise Boyz - Supernatural (The Man Behind C. Edit) 19:29 Charlie North - Wholoo 19:24 Mahoroba - City Chord (5th Avenue Mix) 19:18 Mariella Narvaez - All Night 19:14 Jane Maximova - Late In The Night (Feat. Dmitry Raschepkin) 19:10 Clelia Felix - Keep Watching The Stars 19:05 Velvet Lounge Project - Why Should I Say No 19:00 Velvet Dreamer - Crystal Water (Jjos Balearic Remix) 18:56 Stj - She Believes (Radio Version) (Feat. Liba) 18:53 Brass - Breeze 18:48 Index - Noon Hour Blues 18:44 Twentyeight Feat. Tesz Millan - Into You 18:39 Science For Girls With Renee Cologne - Violets 18:34 Jon Hopkins - Second Sense 18:29 Giyo - Reach Out Of The Darkness 18:21 Tilt - Rising Son 18:18 Bes & Meret - La Danse (Florito Mix) 18:13 Jane Maximova - A Straw 18:09 Pat Appleton - Ageless 18:09 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 18:04 De-phazz - Anchorless 17:59 Crystal - Sex Is In The Air - Psyche Lounge Mix 17:55 Beach Hoppers - One Love 17:49 Recloose - Abscence Of One 17:45 Ghostly Kisses - Empty Note 17:40 Wen - Call Me 17:34 Man In A Room & Civilian - Night Mail (Velvet Dreamer Remix) 17:29 Chris Le Blanc - Beyond The Sunsets (Ibiza Late Night Mix) 17:25 Bliss - Mivahetsek (Feat Lisbeth Scott) 17:20 Jens Buchert - 1001 Miles 17:14 Beach Hoppers - Keep Dreaming (Eskadet Moonlight Version) (Eskadet Moonlight Version) 17:08 Mathieu & Florzinho, Amroota Natu - Maha-amba (Living Room Remix) 17:04 Jazzamor - Tonight 16:57 Pacator - Tears (Marcielo Ambient Mix) 16:52 Kosta Rodrigez - Soul 2 Sell (Boosanova Chill Mix) 16:47 Waldeck - Why Did We Fire The Gun 16:43 Gingo Doren Stone - Fishing Secrets 16:40 Lasteden - Hot City Walk (Original Mix) 16:35 Dolphin Boy - Shake It Loose 16:31 Soulavenue - One By One (Feat. Shaheen) 16:31 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 16:25 Yaima - Gajumaru 16:20 Frank Borell - Alema (Step By Step Mix) 16:15 Soulstice - Andromeda 16:10 Spinne - Saxophonecheck 16:04 Don Gorda Project - Stay On Course 16:01 Consoul Trainin & Pink Noisy - Litanie Des Saints 15:56 India Arie - Always In My Head 15:52 Dreamhunter - Oude Centrum (Original Mix) 15:47 Hooverphonic - The World Is Mine (Eli Janney's Tight Remix (Edit) 15:43 Matisse & Jury Jet - Early Sunrise (Feat S Khovansky) 15:37 Max Melvin - Earth Inside 15:32 Lazy Hammock - Lost In Dreams 15:31 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 15:25 Danny Hay - Night In (Original Mix) (Original Mix) 15:21 Atb Feat. Kate Louise Smith - Moving Backwards 15:16 Paul Hardcastle - First Light 15:10 Diego Clamente - Gypsy 15:06 Peter Pearson - Drifting Off (Original Mix) 15:01 Moe Turk - What I Feel Like 14:56 Aqualux - Take Me Back (Ft Lyksa) 14:50 Jens Buchert - Dragonfly 14:50 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 14:44 Headstrong Feat. Kirsty Hawkshaw - Love Calls (Floris De Haan Mix) 14:39 Rainfairy - You-'re Not There - Brighter Than The Sun Mix 14:32 Under - Under (Morgan Page Remix) 14:30 Dave Palmer - Venezia (Love In The City Mix) (Love In The City Mix) 14:29 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 14:23 Rivera Rotation - Waterdrops 14:20 Paul Hardcastle Feat. Maxine Hardcastle - Dreamin 14:18 Deeper Sublime - Buddha Cafe 14:14 Above The Sky - India (Original Mix) 14:13 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 14:09 Lemongrass - All My Angels 14:02 York, Project Blue Sun - Crusin (Original Mix) 13:57 Leotone - Journey (Original Mix) 13:52 Tracy Diamonds & Step Away - A Pain That I'm Used To (A Lounge Tribute To Depeche Mode) 13:52 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 13:47 Merge Of Equals - Clear Blue Sky 13:42 Pascal Dubois - Deep Into The Night (Long Island Mix) 13:34 Paul Hardcastle - Unlimited Love 13:29 Michael E - Bliss You 13:24 Blackfish - Bay Of Islands 13:18 Guenter Haas - Alone But Never Lonely (Original Mix) 13:14 Corcovado Frequency - Connect 13:08 Dj Shah - Arco Iris (Chillout Mix) 13:07 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 13:04 Meadowlark - Headlights (Original Mix) 13:00 Cocogroove - Coconut Rain (Wet Summer Mix) 12:54 Lounge Traveller - Many Places 12:44 Lenny Mac Dowell - Deepest Inner (Original Mix) 12:38 Dalminjo - And She Said (Ex-girlfriend Mix) 12:33 Marcus Koch - Beautiful Day 12:28 Yuri Petrovski - True 12:24 Edo - Relaxed Love 12:19 Boerd - Blind 12:14 Riccardo Eberspacher - Sansiz Olamaz 12:10 Zelonka - Destination Moon (Elektrohandel Remix) 12:09 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 12:05 Peter Pearson - Drifting Along 12:00 Marga Sol - My Dream (Original Mix) 11:56 Shamika Cox - Te Quiero 11:52 Jens Buchert - Lichtwesen 11:51 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 11:46 Velvet Dreamer - Crystal Water (Five Seasons Remix) 11:42 Olegy - Good Bye 11:36 Astrobase - Tuesday (Original Mix) 11:31 Club Turquoise - Awakening (Original Chill) 11:26 Night Loungers - A Little Lazy Morning In Paris (French Kiss Vocal Mix) 11:21 Faro - Dreaming In Orange 11:15 Stonebridge Ft. Therese - Put-'em High (Claes Rosen Lounge Mix) 11:10 Oscar Salguero - With You 11:05 Hooverphonic - The World Is Mine 11:01 Mr Fijiwiji, Holly Drummond - Something To Hold 10:57 Ian Pooley Feat. Marcos Valle - Sentimento 10:51 Green Lemon - Voz Interior (Meditation Mix) 10:47 Riccardo Eberspacher - Osiride 10:42 Left - Under The Water 10:37 Pier-o Feat. Marga Sol - Air Of Love (Original Mix) 10:30 Christian Hornbostel Feat. Sarah Chris - Looking Back On Tomorrow 10:27 Sandra - Forever 10:21 Cane Garden Quartet - Flying With No Wings 10:15 Marina Beach (Guitar Flow Mix) - Cafe Americaine 10:07 Dimitris Manasidis - Love You For Life - Bobby Deep Sunset Mix 10:04 Olegy - Slow Confusion 09:59 Karnaval Blues - Please Go Slowly 09:54 Sunyata Project - Inner Lights (Feat. Miyabi) 09:50 Bernon - Don't Worry (Wellness For Your Soul Mix) 09:44 Gary B - A Better Life 09:39 Dominik Pointvogl - Malibou Beach (Original Mix) 09:36 Bent - As You Fall 09:33 Purrple Cat - Ghost Planet 09:29 Velvet Lounge Project - Hidden Treassure (Morton Lenco Remix) 09:22 Sunyata Project - Pi Lo Chun (Extended Mix) (Extended Mix) 09:20 C Cil - Calm & Quiet 09:15 Vargo - You're Not Alone 09:10 Emili Birdy - What You Gonna Do (Soul 2 Sax Mix) 09:05 Climatic - L'horizzonte 08:58 Danny Hay - Night In (Original Mix) 08:52 Moonwatcher - Sofa Loafer (Original Afterhours Mix) 08:46 Weekend Players - Higher Ground 08:40 Gold Lounge - Promised Land 08:35 Late Night Alumni - Summer Lies 08:30 Jasmon - Delight 08:26 Roberto Sol & Chris Le Blanc Feat Ines - Ahora 08:20 Dj Krush Feat. Zap Mama - Danger Of Love 08:14 Max Melvin - Freeze 08:10 Riccardo Eberspacher - Mi Amor Feat. Maria Teresa Pintus 08:04 Smooth Deluxe - Estoy Loco Por Ti (Ibiza Vs Miami) 07:57 Dab - The Blues 07:52 So Phat! - A Love Bizarre 07:49 Tycho - Japan (Feat. Saint Sinner) 07:43 Marga Sol - Buddhanima 07:38 Katy B - Honey (Feat. Kaytranada) 07:34 Moondust - In Between Days (Feat. Querubyna) 07:28 Man Behind C. - Pitcard (Dreamguitar Mix) 07:24 Sven Van Paapen - Love Me Slow (Smooth Vocal Flair Mix) 07:21 Ted Irens - Dreamland Trip 07:16 Jens Buchert - Helios 3 (Mind Flux Mix) 07:10 Sunset Session Group - Soulsalicious 07:09 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 07:05 Wayang - Beneath These Falling Leaves (Bali Mix) 06:57 Lemongrass - Habla Mi Corazon (Kevin Yost's Otherside Of The World Remix) 06:53 Gold Lounge - Oh La La 06:50 C.cil - Sunset 06:49 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 06:45 Villablue Feat. Juanita Grande - If I Could Tell You 06:40 Jerome Noak Feat. Al Miller - You Got Me - Thomas Lemmer Chillout Remix 06:35 Blank & Jones W. Cathy Battistessa - Miracle Man (Afterlife Mix) 06:31 Michael E - Dont Stop 06:29 Zyan Terrance - Mover 06:25 Soundset City - You Are My Angel (Smooth Vocal Lounge Mix) 06:21 Kasseo Ft. Cordelia O-'driscoll - In Your Eyes 06:17 Mazelonostra - Angels Are Coming 06:17 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 06:13 Peter Pearson - This Way To A Dream 06:08 Electric Moonlight - Spirit Of The World 06:03 Gary B - My Love 05:57 Euphonic Traveller - Pont Notre Dame 05:56 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 05:52 Jazzamor - Sometimes 05:47 Mirage Of Deep - Manhattan 3-25 Am 05:42 Marga Sol - Beautiful Morning (Seven24 & S.a.t Remix) 05:38 Medsound - Love In Your Attic 05:38 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 05:32 Suntheca Prod. - Beleza 05:28 Lounge Vargos - Feeling Love 05:22 Boot Cut Rockers - Deep In Our Heart 05:18 Marcel - Love & Desire (Feat. Jen) 05:14 Blank & Jones - Sun Starts Smiling (Eclectic Mix) 05:11 Spektrum - Gebeit - Genug (Original Mix) 05:06 Lamour (Loungematic Mix) - Cafe Americaine 05:01 Monodeluxe - All Night 04:55 Faro - Tiramisu 04:49 Reve De Cabaret - Trust Me 04:45 Ana Criado - Cant Hold Back The Rain (Dark Matters Original) 04:38 Players - Around The World 04:34 Carsten Gronholz - Do What You Like 04:29 Merge Of Equals - Don't You Know 04:24 Madita - Unspoken 04:20 Mirage Of Deep, Amethyste - Tragic Farewell 04:14 Aandra - You Are The Gold (Feat. Soul Sista Shakti) 04:08 Diario - Indigo 04:03 Simon Le Grec - I Need U (Smooth Mix) 03:57 Sharion - Pleasure 03:54 Ituana - It's A Fever 03:49 Dj Maretimo - Sky Sprinter (Smooth Operator Mix) 03:44 Evolve - Well I Gotta Story 03:41 Fascade Feat. Leigh Myles - Won-'t Make Me Give In 03:37 Style Project - Cloudy Eyes (Vocal Mix) 03:31 New Beginning - Another Day 03:28 Dharma Frequency - Kamasutra Chill 03:24 Sugar, Eva Kade, Evil T - All Around (Marsbeing Remix) 03:18 Kraak & Smaak - Naked (Feat. Ivar & Berenice Van Leer) 03:14 Vargo - Lovecore 03:10 Pearldiver - Daydream 03:06 Josif Imen Puerta - Early Beach 02:59 Nalin & Kane - Beachball (Andry Meets Schalli @ Monkey Island Remix) 02:54 Leonard Sign - Sea Of Shinas (Beauty Atmosphere Mix) (Beauty Atmosphere Mix) 02:50 Newton - Cologne City Waves 02:48 The Timewriter - The Soul Redrive 02:44 Dubphonic - Trick Of Time 02:40 Emma Hewitt - These Days Are Ours (Zetandel Chill Out Mix) 02:34 Debora Vilchez - The Words You Said (Smooth Vocal Flair Mix) 02:32 Inside Soul - Light Way (Gold Stream) 02:26 Jonas Kroon - Her Er Eg (Xerxes Remix) 02:23 Dj Rob De Blank - Love Is All Around Me - 02:19 Steven Dual - Flying (Balearic Guitar Mix) 02:14 Boerd - Blind 02:08 Solanos - After The Rain (Original Mix) 02:03 Vargo - Goodbye Is A New Beginning 02:00 Sphere - Dreamer 01:56 Dab - You & Me 01:56 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 01:50 Lukas Greenberg - Sometimes 01:46 Sade - Lovers Rock (Album Version) 01:42 Lemongrass - Sunset People 01:37 Good Chillaz - Stoned Love (Jazzomatic Mix) 01:36 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 01:31 Velvet Dreamer - Chasing The Moment 01:26 Felipe Gonzalez - No Hablas Espagnol (Original Mix) 01:21 Hotplay - Turn Around (Guitar Del Mar Mix) 01:17 Goloka - Tobacco Slide 01:13 Lemongrass - Life 01:09 Living Room - From Suspicious Mind (Original Mix) 01:04 Puch - Playground (Original Mix) 00:57 Schiller - Velvet Aeroplane 00:57 Jingle - Radiosun.ro 00:53 Lyves - Darkest Hour 00:48 Nookie Feat. Larry Heard - Paradise Tease Mix 00:43 Gary B - Ill Be Your World 00:37 Syntheticsax & Slava Gold - Memoirs (Chillout Version) 00:33 Randy Seidman, Rogerio Jardim, Tommy Cunningham - Come Back To Me (Original Mix) 00:29 Sebastian Davidson - Freefallin' (Tariq Pijning On Sax Mix) 00:25 Elektrohandel - Somnia Dulcia 00:19 Shakes Seven - This Time 00:13 Fresh Moods - Cocomilk 00:10 Inside Soul - Keyless Gate (Elevate Mind) 00:04 Michael E - Shadows & Light (Original Mix) 00:00 Living Room - Feel The Sun

[wow-butfuckyou]

This Is Me Trying. Senior Thesis Project.

This is a message to @taylorswift , Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff.

And if anyone else sees this and wants to help a girl out, please reblog, I'd so appreciate it!

My name is Avalon (insta: @avalondibernard) and I am senior photography major currently working on my thesis, which involves a gallery showing, book, and video. For my book, we are required to have notable people who we look up to write our forwards. I thought, because my entire project is guided using Folklore/Evermore song titles; all of which have meant so much to me, it would be amazing to reach out and hopefully get the attention of Taylor, Aaron and Jack to maybe write my forward. Watching Long Pond Studios, and listening to the explanations behind This is Me Trying and Mirrorball etc, I related in so many different ways than what the lyrics are describing. October 2019, I lost my older brother to addiction which really turned my world upside down. My thesis is based on me and my struggles with mental illness, specifically depression, anxiety and right now prolonged grief. Therefore, my book is divided into three chapters, Mirrorball, Happiness and Right Where You Left Me. Mirrorball speaks on my insecurity, social anxiety and the tendencies to over drink to feel accepted by others. Happiness references my brothers passing and this 'purgatory' reality I have found myself in. The last chapter, Right Where You Left Me speaks on isolation and how separated I feel from the world. Folklore and Evermore are two albums I connected with on a whole other level. Both albums, came during a time where I was and still am dealing with my brothers passing and still trying to continue my life as if nothing has happened just for the sake of my own sanity. I interpreted these four songs in ways that can tell my own life story. Having Taylor, Aaron and Jack write and even see my thesis would be life changing for me. I grew up poor, experienced a lot and has overcome a lot, from being homeless, to dealing with my fathers and brothers heroin addiction to living weeks without electric or water. I just wanted to be able to end my college career with something I am proud of and to finally talk about the issues I've dealt with my whole life; almost like coping. So, If you guys see this and you're not too busy, would you guys be open to writing my forward? I can send a pdf of the book and can send my images over as well. Thank you to whoever sees this and reads it. This is the biggest thing I've done in my life so far and I would probably pass out if they see this. Also here are some screenshots of some pages from my book so far.

@taylorswifteditt @swiftgallery @killinboys

[haxorus-imp]

Human Perspective - Reader LBP fic

Gender neutral Reader - No romance - Little Big Planet - No dialogue 

A human is lost in the imagisphere and is struggling to cope with their new surroundings. AO3 for those that prefer to read it there - > https://archiveofourown.org/works/28741977

You really don’t remember how you arrived here in this strange place. One moment you were resting peacefully, the next thing you know, you were being woken up by a small little humanoid fabric creature.

Once your eyes focused, you had gotten startled upright from the presence of the being, which was obviously understandable. In a hurry, you scoot away from the being and frantically look around. Despite just waking up, it took mere moments for you to realize that something was completely off about the land you were in...let alone how you got there. You were left completely dumbfounded. The small little humanoid seemed a bit worried about you, despite just meeting you.

Flustered, your confusion only grew when you tried to ask the little creature where you were and it simply spoke in sign language. Which you didn’t understand. Seeing your expression of complete loss, the little being thought for a moment before it decided to wave at you in a ‘follow me’ motion as they turned and waddled away. Still lost and confused, you really didn’t have a choice.

You picked yourself up and followed the little being through some garden-like areas before the landscape began to change and buildings made out of wood and cardboard slowly appeared. While on the walk over to who-knows-where, you decided to slightly distract yourself with looking around at your surroundings.

It was strange, as it almost felt like you were back home on Earth. However, this was far from the case. An example of your strange predicament lies in the horizon and around yourself. It was all made of fabric...just like the ground was...with an exception of other things. Like the cardboard buildings and creatures that dwelled nearby, as well as the fabric clouds that floated on by. The only thing that could be deemed ‘normal’ around here, at least to you, was the water that flowed in the rivers under the bridges you two passed by. Everything was strangely made to look like projects of arts and crafts.

Not even the locals were exempted from this rule. As the little creature that was leading you somewhere was made entirely of knitted wool. I just left you puzzled and completely stumped at where you even were.

But hopefully this little biped would be able to provide some answers. Your first set of strange contacts was with a small group that the little sack...thing...person...was leading you towards. Your approach didn’t go unnoticed. Once you and the little creature arrived, the three figures were giving you wary glances. But the little sackperson stepped forward and began to sign to them. It was quite a surprise to learn that these larger beings seemed to be British...despite this place not looking like Earth. A bit of back and forth later and you finally managed to introduce yourself and explain your situation to the three larger beings. In which, they introduced themselves to you as well.

There was Larry Da Vinci, an elderly individual with a paper beard and cardboard 3D glasses, who seemed to be rather forgetful, as it took him a moment to remember his own name before the bun-having blonde next to him spoke up.

Her name was Victoria, who had doll-like features and a steampunk-inspired body. She also seemed to be very polite too. Despite being an older female, her and Da Vinci even seemed to be a thing. If the sweet-based names he kept calling her had anything to say for it.

Then there was a rather depressed-looking individual named Clive, who was a man with an eraser for a body and a cyan desk calendar for a head, which was just to name a few things that caught your eye about him. It was just so strange to see paperclips merely sticking to a body without an anchor. But he was still polite none-the-less, even if he wasn’t as enthusiastic as Larry or Victoria.

As for yourself? Well, you were a human. Made of flesh and blood, unlike the natives of this realm you happened to get lost in. It wasn’t hard to take notice of how the others would look at you strangely from time to time.

Not only just because you showed up out of nowhere, but because your appearance just seemed...as that Ginger-Haired prideful loudmouth ‘Avalon’ would put it - “Highly suspicious-looking”. You didn’t think you looked that bad...or creepy. So, you just played down their doubts by just explaining that you're from very far away and that you were lost. It took a bit of convincing from Sackthing to see if Larry had any leads on what to do.

Many of them acted like they had never seen a human before and it wasn’t hard to see why. I mean, they even thought you looked ill and took you to an apple-headed nurse, who was strangely in a birdcage of all things, named Eve to have a look at you. She apparently tried to find your ‘stitching’, which took you awhile to explain that you weren’t born with ‘stitching’. She seemed completely lost with your explanation on a normal human body and she did some typical tests. Took your temperature, tested your reflexes, and gave you a few psychological tests. All came back okay, showing that you were in fact a perfectly normal human being. Even if she seemed slightly disappointed. The rest of the time was spent visiting the other creators once word got around that a unique stranger was visiting Craftworld from ‘very far away’. Despite meeting a fair chunk of them within the first few hours.

It was most likely Avalon who let the cat out of the bag, the dude probably can’t keep his mouth shut to save his life. If your first encounter with him had anything to say about it. Dude even had the nerve to call you a ‘rubbery-looking tall weirdo’.

Thankfully, Larry chewed him out for his rudeness before you could. So one by one, you met the creator curators and visited their homelands with Larry as your guide, since sackthing had other duties to attend to at the time.

It was quite an exhausting trip. Thankfully most of the realms could be accessed by rocketships that were provided by Larry Da Vinci. Yes, rocketships. Made out of cardboard...with a jet attached to them.

You didn’t understand how they worked, so you pretty much just went with it and didn’t ask any questions. Each encounter was as unique as they came as you headed off to the other parts of Craftworld with Larry. Your first encounter was with the lovely baker you met before, Victoria. She was very interesting to say the least, having a lab and bakery hybrid that she called home. She explored the possibilities of pastries and science. A strange combination. She even tried to offer you some of her baked goods, which you sadly discovered you couldn’t eat. At all . You just couldn’t force yourself to eat a literal SPONGE cake, so you had to turn her down gently but gratefully thanked her for the offer anyway. After that was Clive, the same depressed individual from earlier. You eventually discover that  he has lived in a factory for most of his life and just knows the day in and day out of being at work constantly. No wonder the poor sap was so blue. He obviously needed a long vacation. After a typical meet and greet, you toured the factory he called home and had a lot of fun watching how things operated while Clive rambled on and on about work and various activities he would perform around the factory. You even got to meet the cute little sackbots while you were there. Which was a pleasant experience in itself! After that was Eve’s Asylum where she and Professor Higginbottom were located. You met Higginbottom at the Asylum. Which was probably the strangest thing you have ever experienced...aside from being lost in this fabric dimension. He seemed like someone who got into the bong and never came out. Though, listening to him talk was quite entertaining. Even if you didn’t understand anything that came from his mouth. Eve was present there as well. Despite the underwhelming encounter from earlier, Eve was still elated to observe you and see how you were coping.  She apparently ran the asylum that was filled with beautiful flora, magical trees, and crazy people. Which wasn’t a surprise, but you were just happy that they were under the care of someone as loving as Eve. Even if she got a bit frustrated that she couldn’t make heads or tails about your ‘strange biology predicament’. Even with an unnecessary ‘second analysis’. Then finally, there was Avalon. The dude was about as loud and as arrogant as they came.

However, he pushed it to a point where he made it endearing rather than annoying, but your traveling companion could beg to differ. It seemed that Larry and Avalon had a lot of disagreements on who was the leader of “The Alliance”. Whatever that was. Both of them mixed like oil and vinegar, like broccoli and pizza, like boomers and millennials...it was honestly kinda funny to watch them bicker. However, you haven’t forgotten that rude comment he made about you. So you were still on the fence with him. Still, Avalonia was a wonderful place to visit. Looking at all of the strange gadgets that were made, the types of vehicles, and the sheer ethereal aura that the place radiated...Avalon really did have a strong reason to flex after all.

But as fun as it was to visit these Curators, you still needed to find your way home. Plus, you had to keep moving if you were going to be able to find anything to eat.

I mean, you have been offered food on numerous occasions while on your trip, however it wasn’t anything you could actually eat. ‘Sponge’ cakes, icing that was too sweet, jam that was too sticky, crackers that were made of cardboard, cookies made out of paper, fruit made out of fabric or plastic… It was all fake...and you were starting to starve.

Your lack of eating also seemed to worry Larry, but you feigned being fine. Despite the fact that you hadn’t really eaten in days. It was wearing down on you pretty bad at this point. Despite your lie, Larry seemed to still be lost on what to do with you. You honestly couldn’t blame him though. You were quite an enigma. Then, Larry was reminded of something and had explained that he was going to go to a place called Bunkum to attend a session in a place called Popit Academy and graciously offered if you wanted to visit while he was participating. At that time, you really didn’t know that you could explore other planets...but this was a strange new universe with strange new ways. So what could possibly go wrong?

So, from one planet made of patches to one with strange gadgets on it, you arrive at a place called “Needlepoint Peaks”.

Which was filled with crisp mountain air and little floating objects that harassed you at every angle. It was quite frustrating, as they would cling to you and you would have to constantly shake them loose. It seemed to amuse Larry to the point of chuckling as you both headed down the mountain together. While on the way, you even decided to take a bite out of the crackers that were sticking out of the ground. Which turned out to be a big mistake.

The ‘treat’ was about as stale as they come. It was hard to chew and it had the lingering scent of cardboard and dust. You promptly spat it out and coughed violently while Larry looked at you like you had lost your marbles.

Despite everything looking tasty, it was all dried and stale, nothing more than deceptive decorations for your ever growing hunger that gnawed away at you from your insides. You could only sigh helplessly as you passed the deceptive goodies and just focused on following Larry to the next destination. Once down from the mountain, both of you arrived at a place called ‘Stitchem Manor’, which seemed to be occupied by two lightbulbs and a monster. The family greeted Larry and seemed to notice you, despite you attempting to hide your taller figure behind the Elder Curator. The smaller lightbulb seemed to be very eager to meet you, as he strode up and waved and said a rather friendly hello. You timidly come out of hiding and meet up with him too. Returning the greeting politely. The lightbulb seems to happily chitter about as you stare at him. He then graciously introduces you to his father, a clear idol in his eyes, and his mother. Who wasn’t a monster. She just looked scary as hell.

You politely greet them in return and Larry explains your situation to the family. It seemed that Larry had decided to see if you could visit with the Pud family, which was a rather strange name, until he was through with his lessons at the popit academy. Seeing if one of them was available to show you around Bunkum until he came back later. You almost rolled your eyes at the thought of needing a guide or babysitter, but you didn’t know this place. So you really should stick with someone until you understand the ropes. The younger-looking lightbulb, who was named Newton, proudly volunteers to show you around Bunkum. A desire to give his ‘new strange-looking chum the best tour of Bunkum they have ever experienced’. So he says. Apparently, his parents were both worried about his proposal. Not because of you, but apparently Newton had caused a heap of trouble for the natives of Bunkum and was still in too-hot water because of it. Despite making peace with most of the locals and trying to clear his name from the titan incident...whatever that was. It sounds bad just by the name alone.

However, after enough begging, his parents gave in and decided to allow him to show you around Bunkum. Satisfied with the ordeal, Larry had headed off and Newton’s parents headed back inside the large manor.

Once alone, Newton had grabbed your hand before suddenly letting go in surprise. When questioned, he just stared and made a comment about how your ‘knitting’ felt strange against his hands. You just merely shrugged and walked ahead, Newton quickly taking the lead again as he rambled on and on about stuff to do while you were visiting.

The first stop was Manglewood. Which could only be reached by boat. Which just made the ride over much more boring than usual, except when Newton would talk about it and mention all the things to do there. It helped to pass the time until the island in question came into view. By appearance alone, you would’ve thought you both were lost in some bayou in the heart of Louisiana, but that wasn’t far enough from the truth. There were film reels, movie cameras, and set pieces all strewn about the landscape. Making it look like a set that was covered in moss and willows. However, you also took notice of a strange figure sitting at the edge of the landmass. Simply sitting there and watching the boat. Once close enough, you seemed to make out that it appeared to be...dog-like? Like a sock puppet type of dog? It was just waiting there and once you both touched down on land, it sped over to investigate. In which, it happily jumped aboard and sniffed around.

Once it glanced at Newton, it’s face changed to a certain type of disinterest but once it scanned over to you, it began to wag its’...butt...and bark happily. You confusedly look at the animal before waving and greeting the...dog-thing. Having it jump up on you and lick you with a fabric tongue, thankfully it didn’t seem to leave any slobber behind.

Newton explained that it was a creature called Oddsock and it seemed to be protecting Manglewood. He almost seemed a tad bit jealous that Oddsock had taken a liking to you so quickly, even if he didn’t show it openly.

He led you off of the boat and further into Manglewood, the dog sticking close to your side.

There, you both found a man who introduced himself as Marlon Random.

He was quite a character. Looking like a spool of film with a strange hairstyle to go with it, the dancing, the personality, the references to movies and such...he was probably the most enjoyable to be around. He didn’t even seem to mind Newton. Greeting him as if it was any other day, in which Newton had replied half-heartedly and explained your situation. Once Marlon heard of your plight, he stopped and looked at you closer. Taking notice of your strange appearance as well, he nods and laughs lightly. Eager to show Manglewood to you, despite Newtons’ protests. You had decided to visit the space area and discovered that floating in space was incredibly fun. The zero gravity, peaceful music playing in the background, and just the weightlessness of it all...it was truly an experience. After that, he took you over to the old-style diner. You jammed out to some old-style tunes, which strangely came from Earth of all places, and you even tried to take a few bites out of the food laying around. Getting the same result as the one from Needlepoint Peaks. You even tried the milkshakes. Which were SO SWEET. Too sweet even!

It was like everything around here was made out of two dumptruck loads of sugar. Plus, you couldn’t really force past it, as it was strong enough to hurt your teeth anyway. One secret spit out later and you lot had decided to settle in for a bite.

With the exemption of you. So while Newton, Marlon, and even Oddsock enjoyed the food...you found yourself without a meal yet again. Your aching belly rumbling in disdain as you sigh quietly. You just had to endure for a bit longer...you would get home soon...hopefully. Thankfully there was water to drink. So you had that instead. Still, you had a kick watching Newton shove fries and pieces of food into that hole in his neck. Which made sense, as he simply couldn’t shove it past the glass that covered his head. It just made you wish you could enjoy it with them...wait...why were they looking at you...why were they laughing --? A tickling sensation pretty much crawled around you as those bothersome floating objects began to stick to you again, resulting in you crying out in agitation and shaking about in the seat to dislodge them. Your companions seemed to find the situation hilarious as you pluck them off and flick them away from yourself. Huffing a bit at your group as they laugh at your grumpiness. But once it was all said and done, the last places being too ‘dangerous’ for you to explore, you both decided it would be time to head out to the Ziggurat. You would’ve headed to a place called ‘Zom Zom’s’ however Newton explained that he only took a special type of currency called ‘collectabells’, which got a chuckle out of you. Sadly, you didn’t really have any currency at all. So you skipped on going there. He probably wouldn’t have anything in your size anyway. So, both of you cross the bridge and ride the gondola into the distance while Marlon and Oddsock waved you both off. In no time at all, the temperature began to drop and snow began to fall from the sky. The wind from the gondola didn’t help the situation either, your clothes could barely keep out the chill. Newton didn’t seem bothered by it, which wasn’t a surprise to you. That fluffy coat he was wearing looked comfortable.

You would ask to wear it, but it was just too small for you. Plus, Lightbulbs radiate heat, so he was probably all warm and toasty underneath that fabric. Talk about being lucky.

Finally, the gondola came to a hill and along that hill seemed to be a towering figure. It almost looked like a burlap sack...like something you would shove potatoes in. Once closer though, it seemed similar to the last creature you encountered.

If logical reasoning could be fathomed here, that must be this land’s protector as well. Seeing by how they grew alert to the approaching elevator. Once it stopped and you and Newton stepped off, the large figure approached curiously. Similar to before, the creature met Newton with a poker face about as blank as the snow, but he gave you a rather silly smile once he looked in your general direction. What you didn’t expect was a large friendly hug to accompany that smile. You were pretty much scooped up and pressed against the taught cloth-chest of the large figure, gasping for air as it cuddled you. Newton began by explaining that this was the Ziggurat, which also happened to be Toggles’ home. Which was the name of the creature hugging you. He told you about the grand library and the ballets that would be held here every day and that hopefully you would enjoy the shows while you both were here. With a few desperate taps on Toggle, you were released and were finally able to get a full breath of air. You almost felt bad for Toggle’s worried face, but a reassured pat on their arm seemed to make them satisfied that you were okay. You walk along, following Newton as he gives you a brief tour of the entrance. Toggle following close behind you both as you walk towards a large and towering brass-like structure that was the centerpiece of this frozen wasteland.

Then, you met Papal Mache in the temple sanctum. Who gave Newton a rather skeptical glance after your arrival before staring at you for a brief moment. Once again, another remark on your appearance was made.

It almost made you wanna put a bag over your head and hide away from the world.

And what is with everyone asking where your ‘stitching’ was? You’re not made of fabric!

You just let out another sigh as Newton repeated the spill from earlier encounters while you busied yourself by looking at the temple architecture. From the looks of it, it seemed to be the insides of a large pipe organ, with stained glass windows of ballerinas and russian-esque soldiers. Which made sense, as Russia was known for its musical culture and revered classics in the modern world. While you admired the art and such, Papal Mache seemed to understand and decided to escort you both down to the library. Which was being looked after by...a dog...woman...thing.

You simply just shake your head and decide to listen in on her history lessons that were offered to you, which were indubitably interesting and selectively inspiring.

Especially once you began to read some of the pamphlets that Toggle helped save from a flood. Toggle even stayed and sat down to listen to his heroic deeds for a bit. Out of curiosity, you pick up one of the pamphlets. No wonder the lady-dog would’ve been so upset to lose some of this history, it was pretty interesting! However, it was short-lived once Newton grew bored and pulled you away from the library with a rushed goodbye to the friendly dog lady. Nearly leaving Toggle behind. Only then did you realize how cold you were getting from the temperature after sitting still on a cold floor. You begin to shudder as the cold wind brushes against you and you slow down as the cold bites at your flesh.

Curiously, Newton had questioned what was wrong as you trembled helplessly in the frigid gales. Once you explained that humans can get something called hypothermia from excessive cold and die, Newton practically flipped his lid.

A quick grasp of your hand and he took off with you in tow.

He quickly rushed past Papal Mache and through the temple to get you to a large furnace on the other side.

Once close enough, you could feel the warmth of the furnace melting away the freezing ice that had wrapped itself around your body. Replacing it with warmth and comfort. Once at the entrance, you graciously sit down on the warmed metal and let out a blissful sigh of relief. You were pretty much scolded by Newton for not telling him earlier and a worried Papal Mache arrived on scene not much later. A brief questioning later and Papal figured it might be best if you don’t stay here too long. Not that he didn’t enjoy new visitors, but because you just weren’t equipped for such freezing temperatures. Which were even worse when night fell.

You nodded in understanding and let out a sigh of brief disappointment, but the snow was hard to endure at this point. Once you thawed out, you both would be heading to your final destination, Bunkum Lagoon.

The sound of small rapid footsteps grace your ears as a smaller version of the big guy came scuttling onto the scene. A brief slide later and suddenly it was the big guy again! Only then did you realize what ‘Toggle’ meant. It made you almost wanna laugh. Papal Mache decided to speak up to the large silent hero about your incident and Toggle seemed to become saddened by the news, but nodded in understanding anyway. You felt bad for such a rapid departure, but what else could be done? It was best to finish touring Bunkum so you could get back to Stitchem Manor so you could wait for Larry. Once you got warm enough, you stood up from the ground and Newton rejoined you as both of you walked back into the temple and towards the back where a large elevator awaited. Both of you got on and Papal Mache and Toggle waved their farewells as the elevator began to move and drop down. You had no idea how this would get you to a lagoon, but if you weren’t at the risk of getting hypothermia, you may like it a bit more… Newton seemed to be more apprehensive about this place, unlike the last two places you both visited. He began to talk about a wicked queen who probably boils her disrespectful subjects in hot oil and how she would probably tear him limb from limb if she as much as smelled him. You probably broke a sweat listening to his anxious worries about the next destination. Didn’t seem to be as peaceful as the last two places, just from what he was saying alone. You gulped as the air began to become more humid as the elevator slowed to a stop.

Once outside, the first thing your eyes caught was the sunset that was glistening over the very large lake that resided in a city filled with towering spires and buildings. You couldn’t hide a gasp of awe as you stepped out into the residential areas and admired the masquerade theme that the city had going for it. Plus, there were airships and clouds as far as your eyes could see. It was truly breathtaking. Newton slowly slinked out after you, scanning around as if to keep an eye out for danger. You had thrown caution to the wind as you walked out further into the Lagoon, Newton squeaking and following behind you for a change. You pretty much just happily stroll through the town, looking at all of the cardboard, stickers, and crafted creatures fluttering about. A stark contrast to a human like yourself.

Suddenly, a sudden shout came from above. The noise made Newton cry out in fear as he hid behind yourself as a hovering platform came into your view. On top of it was a marionette looking female as she called down to the both of you. From the tone of her voice, you already knew you weren’t gonna like her. Her tone was bratty and easily portrayed the type that she was. That type being a heavily spoilt princess that expected everyone to obey and respect them, despite them not deserving any. She was also being followed by another sack creature, this one resembling a bird. She immediately began to chew out Newton for one reason or another, you weren’t exactly paying attention as she hissed at your companion. It was almost like she was demanding an explanation as to why he was in ‘her’ kingdom. Newton had managed to pluck up enough courage to creep out from behind yourself as he explained your situation once more. About how you were from ‘very far away’ and a friend had asked if someone was willing to show Bunkum to the newcomer. Despite the fact that he tried to pass it off as him trying to make amends by doing this ‘tour’ with you. Despite the fact that he selflessly volunteered for it, no pressuring from his father or anything. Still, you said nothing as the ‘Queen of Bunkum’ introduced herself to you and you to Swoop, who had landed and was staring at you after giving Newton another neutral passing glance. It even almost seemed to flutter happily for a bit. It made you wonder why all of these sack creatures seemed to be happy to see you, but that can be pondered later. Right now, you just wanted to go and explore this last location before the night began to fall.

With courtesy, you bowed a bit and greeted Pinky. Being sure to call her ‘queen’ in a respectful manner. She looked like the type that was prone to suck-ups.

In which you assumed correctly. Almost seemingly flustered with your polite behavior, she cackles a bit before welcoming you to the Lagoon and ‘knowing fully well that you WILL enjoy your stay ’. However she does give you a warning to keep ‘that yellow ninny’ out of trouble, to which you assured her that she had nothing to be concerned for. Satisfied, she calls swoop back to her side and the levitating platform hovers off into the distance. A thankfully short encounter. Newton lets out a relieved sigh as you continue on. A desire to explore in your veins as the sun continues to set. It was kinda sad that you couldn’t hang out with the bird like you could the other two, but it probably has a job protecting the queen. Still, you continued on. Your lightbulb co-conspirator follows you from close behind. Just waiting to see what you decide to do with the rest of your day. And It was a rather eventful rest of the day.

Both you and Newton had attended various events. Such as an air joust festival, a puppet show, and you two even climbed the tallest tower in the district and listened to the bells of the tower ring. You even got to see the ‘legendary creative heart’, which was strangely disturbing. Despite it being just a giant valentine heart with large bird wings, it still pulsed like an actual heart. You honestly didn’t know how the locals could stand being next to it for so long. Even from this distance it was loud enough for you to hear. You just brush it off and try to ignore all of the bothersome floaty things that came from it. Hopefully none of them would stick to you. At the end of your trip, you both stopped on a pier to watch the sunset over the lagoon. The purple and pink clouds just brought out a tranquility in the atmosphere that almost made you forget about your troubles and your lingering sleepless exhaustion. Despite being here for about a few days, you were starving and getting any sleep was rather rare. Mostly since weird things would occur while you were dozing.

You fell asleep in the rocketship once and a large flower garden had grown up around you while you had slept and you only took notice when you woke up. It was hard to explain it to Larry. You even crashed in Clive’s factory and when you awakened, some new robots were by your side. Seemingly not made in the factory at all, as they didn’t even have the same body shape as the Sackbots. Clive was about as stumped as you were when you showed him. It was just...when you fell asleep, weird stuff would happen to you and the things that surrounded where you were sleeping. So now, you just try to stay awake as much as possible. Even if your eyelids felt like cinder blocks and tiredness nipped at your aching muscles. The thing that bothered you the most as your empty stomach.

If you couldn’t sleep nor eat, how would you even make it out of here?

There was no sustenance to keep you going. You’re pretty much running on emergency energy right now. Burning stored calories and trying to stay alive while you were at it. The constant insomnia was also wearing down on you. You just felt like you could fall asleep right here on the pier. But Newton jostles you awake by reminding you that you both had to head back to Stitchem Manor before night fell on Bunkum. You nod slowly in understanding and finally muster the strength to stand up with a long stretch. From there, Newton led the way back to his home. Leading back the way you came. Back up the mountain, back through the Ziggurat, back down the mountain, through the swamp again, and back to the boat. Once you both set sail, you watch the sinking sun with a lazy gaze.

It was quite a trip...but you really wish you were home. It wasn’t like you were miserable here. These strangers were so nice and open to you, despite your off-putting appearance. You just wished you had something to eat right now...and maybe a nap. Or a thousand year sleep, which would be far better. Still, Stitchem Manor came into view at the cliffside and you both began to dock the boat. By the time you both arrived home, the sky had turned to twilight as you slowly walked after Newton.

Who seemed to be rather jovial after todays ‘adventure’. Both Nana Pud and Captain Pud were there to greet you both at the gates of the manor, Larry Da Vinci was there as well. Seemingly having an idle chit chat while you both arrived. Once you two were noticed, you sluggishly came to a stand still next to Larry while Newton griped about being pampered by his doting mother. You and Larry couldn’t help but chuckle as you all said your goodnights and you and Larry headed away from the manor. You manage to look over your shoulder as the younger lightbulb seems to be happily waving to you while he and his parents go inside the manor. You returned the favor, albeit a bit more slowly as exhaustion slowly caught up to you. Once you were out of sight of the manor, Larry had asked how your day went. You pretty much told him everything. About the fun you had in Manglewood, the freezing experience in the Ziggurat, and the jousting shows in Bunkum Lagoon. You spoke of all the people you met and how Newton was informative and made sure to look after you. It seemed to earn Larrys’ approval as he nods as the pod comes into sight. Once you both were aboard and a course was set for Craftworld, you decided to settle in on the pillows on the far side of the pod. Where it was a bit quieter than the control room. Larry decided that he would drive you both back to Craftworld while you took a nap. You didn’t mind and happily accepted the offer. Though, he probably could tell that you weren’t getting enough sleep. You could practically see the darkness lining your eyes.

Now you were wrapped up in soft materials and laying in a nest made from pillows and such. Your mind was so tired and strained from being awake for so long that all you could think about was how many people you met in the last few days. How many potential friends you could make...but it was still a mystery as to how you arrived on Craftworld in the first place. Let alone how to get out of this dimension and safely back to Earth. If you wanted to go back...that is. I mean, you were still hungry. Even more so now. You could only sigh as the feelings of hunger went away some time ago after you tried to not focus on anything. You were still lost. Even if you met some friendly faces along the way. Still... how did you get here? And how do you get back? You merely blink as these questions run through your mind and you just let out a deep exhale and close your eyes tightly. You just needed some sleep for now. Maybe this is all just one big fever dream and you’ll wake up back in your normal bed with normal humans around you. No fabric, no cardboard, so sponges...just flesh and bones. Organic stuff... REAL stuff.

Or...at least the things you HOPE were REAL things. Oh, but it was just another problem to solve for tomorrow.

You let out another final long sigh as your heavy eyes finally close and you drifted off to sleep in record time.

Blissfully unaware of the images and energy seeping from your head while you slept peacefully throughout the whole trip back to Craftworld.

[jasminevolkan]

TIME IN A BOTTLE — self paragraph 001,

& character development TASK #5.

warnings: abandonment issues, divorce, abuse/neglect, death and illness, mentions of christmas, food and alcohol, curse words, jasmine having courage?

JANUARY 1ST 2021, 11:27 am.

Wishes of joy, success and health ended the traditional New Year’s brunch at the Volkan’s residence. Usually, the duo would make this celebration last all day long, but Jasmine had other plans. Instead, she put the leftovers in containers and headed for the exit. She kissed her mother on both cheeks and wrapped her in a tight hug. She earned a pat on the back as a notification she was squeezing her mother’s body too tightly. “Don’t want to let you go,” Jasmine whispered those words like an automatic response. “I’m not going anywhere,” Lana would reply.

They were creature of habits, an inseparable pair. They resembled Russian nestling dolls, there was never one without the other. As years went by, Jasmine grew more and more conscious of the inevitable. She was a star following the moon in a dark night sky, but one day the moon would be swallowed in the void and leave the burning dust nothing but an endless pain, deeper than a black hole. She was no stranger to grief, it did not mean she appreciated the experience. They discussed it often, a little too often to Lana’s liking. Her daughter was so fearless, yet she feared everything in her surroundings. She wished she could fly on her own, but she respected Jas’ desire to circle close to the nest.

They were creature of habits, an inseparable pair. They gifted each other the same thing for Christmas — a holiday they celebrated by choice — however they waited for the first day of the year to open them. Chocolate, candles and promises to spend time together in the future. They made plans to build sandcastles together on a rare calm spot of the beach, where Lana claimed there was a palm tree as old as her daughter. They remembered good and bad events that came out of the previous twelve months.

Usually, they would involve unfortunate recipes or complicated art projects that never came to life. More often than not, they would share a knowing look. The worst that came out of anything was Jasmine’s father. His presence (or lack thereof) impacted them on a daily basis, still. It left a whole in their lives, otherwise complete and satisfying. It fed into Jasmine’s insecurities, it encouraged Lana to relive the constant pain she was in while trying to comfort her daughter. Children to grow old in love and affection. No matter how much love Lana provided, it never seemed to be enough for her daughter.

Love and attention were the same thing as food, for Jasmine. She always craved for more and was afraid she would never get enough.

She walked out of her childhood home and crossed the lawn over to her house. Hidden by the mass of leftovers she carried expertly, she did not notice the box that blocked the door until she bumped her foot against it. She tried to scoot around the obstacle, in vain.

The breeze blew stronger, whipping locks of chocolate brown hair on her face. It sent a wave of goosebumps down her spine. She leaned down to open the box, pulling out stuffed animals, birthday cards and other items she remembered seeing in stores but never having the courage to buy it. Expensive paint brushes and other supplies, sets of gold earrings that sparkled under the sun; the list went on. She picked up a pink bunny, it seemed old and resembled one she had in her oldest memories but could never find again.

Jasmine looked up from the objects, the bunny squeezed tightly against her chest. She frowned and looked around, her mother was not on the porch, the other neighbours were probably asleep or gone. Avalon seemed very quiet, almost surreal.

Surreal like the shadow she noticed standing at the corner of the street. Her eyes squinted and blinked, but they seemed to have washed away the familiar silhouette. Somehow, the bunny felt like it radiated a comfortable warmth. She read the message that was left on the box, the handwriting was printed in her memory.

“I love you. I am sorry it took me your whole lifetime to realize it. Signed, “

The end of the message was scribbled in a whirlwind of blue ink. She had to focus really hard to recognize the three letters. Contrary to the presents or the mysterious figure, the word resonated no familiarity.

“Dad.”

FEBRUARY 14TH 2021, 3:02 AM.

Jasmine kept this a secret, the box and the message. She tried to play it cool, like it did not affect her that her father was trying to build the bridge he destroyed when he left for New York City. She hated New York. She hated bridges. She hated him.

No.

She loved him.

She pulled out a pink gel pen from this same pencil case she carried since high school, it had little doodles and messages written at the back from her friends. She ripped a sheet away from her binder that she used for ideas at work. And she improvised. It usually felt so natural for her, to cross boundaries and to do as she pleased. This time, it was painful and almost impossible to do.

“I loved it when you took me for a drive around the island on nights where I couldn’t sleep. I loved it when you brought me to the candy store after forgetting to pick me up from daycare because you were busy. I loved it when you read stories to me during rainy days so I would be quiet and fall asleep. I loved it when you gave me seashells from all of your work trips, even if they looked identical to those on the beaches down the street. I loved it when you took me to the park and pushed me on the swings just long enough before you got a phone call. I loved it when you wrote notes in my lunch boxes on school days, I saved them all in a bottle of bourbon you left on my night stand that one time you came home as the sun was rising.

I loved it when you acted like a father, even if it was just for a split second.

I love receiving magazines and seeing your name on the front page, congratulating you for all the listings you manage to sell. I love staring at the pages of photos and noticing that I look just like you. I love thinking of new ways to improve myself, because that’s what you would have wanted to. I love thinking you might come back here one day and we can make up for all the time we wasted loathing each other. I love thinking one day we might have a family portrait identical to the one you had in your office of your wife and kids. I love thinking that one day you’ll have one of me with them and hang it on your wall at home. I love thinking that one day, I will get to call you Dad.

I forgive you. I forgive you for leaving mom alone with me. I forgive you for hurting me so much I might just never heal. I forgive you for finding your happiness elsewhere. I forgive you for failing as a father. I forgive you for learning how to do better with your other children. I forgive you for leaving the life you never wanted. I forgive you for having dreams that were larger than what we could give you. I forgive you for breaking the promises you told me of this life where we would be a happy family.

I love you,”

The old pen was running out of ink, so she shook it vividly. She did not bother wiping her tears away, not the stain of pink on her hand that was tinting the paper. She added this short word she had blocked out of her memory all this time. It was just a nickname for all, but for her. She remembered the tone of his voice whenever he said this word, it was calm and posed, loving and caring. He said it rarely, but she could still hear it so clearly.

“Jojo.”

FEBRUARY 14TH 2021, 11:58 PM.

She scrunched the sheets of paper into a ball and threw it on the floor, missing the trash can by two feet at least. She then moved to the couch, grabbing her laptop from the coffee table and logged on her email. Her fingers floated above the keyboard until the screen turned darker. She was looking up to the clock on the wall, watching the seconds fly by.

She took a deep breath, hoping it would slow down time. It had the opposite effect, feeding into this adrenaline rush she desperately tried to repress since the beginning of the year.

She loved him. She never stopped, never will. It would not change. Something needed to change, however, and it was her unhealthy habit of being silent when she needed to speak out the most.

TO: Aleksander Volkan (avolkan@hudsonriverestate.com)

FROM: Jasmine Volkan (iluvicecream@gmail.com)

SUBJECT: Receipts and birthday cards

Fuck you. <3

Minnie pressed the button, and sent the email. She shut her laptop close and ran to the abandoned paper on the floor. She unfolded it and held against her chest, disappearing into a room in the search for an envelope.

She was too far to hear the immediate sound of a response.

TO: Jasmine

FROM: Aleksander

SUBJECT:

I love you too.

[saiilorstars]

Fairy Tale Memoirs

Author’s Note: This is part of a one-shot/AU companion story to Stars Dance & Falling in Temptation that features Avalon Reynolds and the Doctor (from 9th-13th Doctor) along with other companions + Lena Reynolds.

// Current Masterlist //

taglist: @ocfairygodmother @anotherunreadblog @maaaaarveeeeel​

Ch. 4: The Builders

Summary: While her mother is asleep, Aurora gets to have some bonding time with her father. The Doctor is amazed to see his daughter's work.

Aurora’s face claim is Kennedy McMann!

Things were mostly quiet in the TARDIS. The Doctor expected it to be that way even though he had finally taken Avalon and Aurora away in the TARDIS. His girls were actually going to live with him from now on. He had so many plans for them and he couldn't wait to get started...but first they needed to rest. Avalon needed to sleep. Though she didn't sleep as much as an average human would, she still needed sleep at times. So, as much as it pained him to keep waiting, the Doctor let her rest. Aurora disappeared in her new room too...

Or so he thought.

He'd heard a spark from the console and since he wasn't around to cause it, he practically dashed into the room. "Where's the fire, dear!? Where's the fire!?" Instead of getting a usual hum from the TARDIS, Aurora popped up from the other side of the console. Her green eyes were wide as could be - she was a deer caught in headlights. Nothing like her mother in that aspect. Avalon never cared if she got caught, the Doctor always had too much fun to get caught up in 'getting caught' but Aurora...she was quite different in that aspect.

"Hi Dad..." she greeted all too innocently. "I wasn't messing with the console. I definitely wasn't trying to see what the knobs did..."

"Aurora! What are—" he sputtered, "Didn't you—weren't you supposed to be asleep!?"

Aurora scratched behind her ear. "Not really."

"What!?"

"I just...I knew if I didn't say I was sleepy then Mum wouldn't have gone to sleep either."

"So you just lied!?"

"No, I just...agreed with her," Aurora smirked. That was all Avalon.

It actually scared the Doctor how similar the smirks were but at the same time it warmed his hearts to see a little copy of his Ava. He couldn't wait to see more moments like these.

"Oh don't be mad with me, Dad," Aurora sighed and started coming around the console. "And don't tell Mum either. I don't really sleep that much. I actually sleep less than Mum."

"Makes sense since you are my daughter," the Doctor came up the steps to join her. "Avalon relatively sleeps about 3 or 4 days a week."

"I don't need it," Aurora shrugged. "I've gone on two days sometimes. But Mum doesn't really know about that — I think it'd make her feel bad that I'm up in the nights while she physically can't be."

"That would sound like her," the Doctor agreed with a nod of his head. "So...what do you do during those nights?"

Aurora hummed. "Lots of things! I go sneaking out to meet boys, of course!"

"What!?" The Doctor's hand came flinging to his chest. He actually felt like a heart attack was coming. A true, proper one. Aurora burst into laughter. "You're not dating anyone until you're 5000 years old!"

"You're not even 5000 years old!"

"Well, then that means there's still a long time to wait!"

Aurora rolled her eyes, attempting to look as irritated as she sounded, but the truth is she was ecstatic to have a conversation like this. She was finally with her father and even when he pulled stuff like this, she would never be bothered.

"You can't go pushing buttons like that, dear," the Doctor said and it earned himself a deep scoff. Aurora shot him a look for him to re-evualute his words. Eventually, the Doctor smirked. "Yeah, alright."

Aurora giggled. "When I was a kid, like 3 years old, I was staying with grandma Amy and grandpa Rory. I found the button for the disposal in the sink." The look on her face promised the Doctor there was a good ending to come. "I took it as a 'How much is too much?' and my answer was 3 apples, 2 hair scrunchies and one dishrag."

"You did not..." the Doctor struggled incredibly hard to keep his laughter at bay. He could already imagine the Ponds' reactions finding the littlest Pond experimenting with their kitchen sink.

Aurora smirked. "I did. I realized that human sink disposals are far too weak. I had to upgrade it...but Mum said I wasn't allowed to. Something about being 3 years old..." The Doctor looked at her for the longest time. Aurora would've taken it had it not been for the story she had just told. "Are you mad too?"

"No..." He admitted. "But don't tell your mother."

Aurora laughed and sprinted up to him for a hug. The Doctor welcomed it with tight arms. They both suspected that it would be like this for a long time. Centuries of missing out on each other's lives did that.

"I'm really glad that you're here now," Aurora murmured. "There's so many things I've always wanted to do with you."

"Well...we're together now, and your mother is going to be sleeping for a few more hours..." the Doctor untangled his arms from his daughter to look at her, "What's first on that list?"

Aurora beamed at the prospect. "Can we finish my sonic screwdriver? Mum doesn't know about it and I get the feeling she'd be the same type of mad whether it was finish or not. I'd rather be in trouble with a finished sonic than an unfinished one."

The Doctor chuckled. "Your thought logic is...interesting."

Aurora grinned. "So is that a yes?"

"For my daughter? How could I say 'no'?"

Aurora cheered and threw her arms around her father. "You're the best!"

How easily those words came out of her mouth when she barely knew him. It warmed the Doctor's hearts to know that even when he was gone, Avalon never spoke ill of him to their daughter.

~0~

Aurora had of course brought along her unfinished screwdriver, cleverly hidden amongst her boxes so Avalon wouldn't find it. The Doctor wouldn't say it out loud but he was impressed with how cleverly it was done. He was never able to hide anything from Avalon for long.

The Doctor had brought them to his old workshop where they would have everything to work with. Aurora had already, just like her mother had the first time she walked in, remarked about the messy state of the room.

"Critics, the both of you," the Doctor had responded with, making her laugh.

"This is what I have so far," Aurora timidly placed her work on the table. She stepped back so that the Doctor could examine what she'd built so far.

"It's amazing how similar the mechanics are to my previous sonics," he remarked.

"I-I may have asked your friend, Sarah Jane, to see hers for a bit. She didn't really know what I was doing."

"You did this from the memory of a quick inspection of another sonic?" The Doctor turned around.

Aurora nodded her head slowly. She was practically holding her breath waiting to hear what he would say. Would he be disappointed? Had she missed something? She'd tried her best to remember but it really had been a long time since she saw Sarah Jane.

"Well done, princess!" the Doctor exclaimed.

Aurora's face lit up. "Really? You like it?"

"Of course! This is great work and you did this without the usual tools you need. You're naturally intelligent."

Aurora's face might as well be a Christmas tree. "You really mean that?"

The Doctor nodded. "Of course! We just need to add a couple things to it."

"Yeah! What kind of things!?" Aurora scurried beside him, eager to learn what ideas he had in mind.

"You said like building things, right?"

"Mhm, I have so many unfinished projects in my boxes...if you want to take a look at them later on...?" Aurora nervously smiled at him.

The Doctor softly smiled down at her. "I would love to." He put an arm around her shoulders and gestured to the sonic on the table. "Since you like building things, we could make that a primary function for your sonic. Maybe we can even make it functional for wood."

Aurora giggled. "Mum says it's stupid that your high-tech sonic doesn't do wood."

"Yeah, and I told her not to diss it," the Doctor grumbled.

"Can we really make it work for wood?"

"Of course we can. We're the best team! Let's get to work!"

The Doctor started gathering some of the usual tools and, regretfully, had to tear into what Aurora already had done. "It's just to connect a few wires," he told Aurora when she started pouting. He didn't want her to think her work wasn't good enough because it was. He was amazed with her work and the fact she had done it all on her own was even more impressive. It reminded him of his young days locked in a workshop with endless plans.

Aurora was up and ready to bring along whatever her father needed. She was ecstatic to be working with him. It wasn't like anything she could've imagined. He was a rambler and sometimes he mind of lost her. She tried to follow along as much as she could but now she could really understand her mother when she said the Doctor talked nonsense. It was funny nonsense but nonsense nonetheless.

"Dad, what are you talking about?" she decided to interject once the rambling had gone somewhere banana-related. "I don't want bananas in my sonic!"

The Doctor laughed. "I didn't mean it like that. These wires are getting crossed and I'm going bananas!"

"Oh," Aurora scratched the side of her head. "Can I try?"

"Of course," the Doctor pulled off his goggles, the same ones that Aurora had made fun of as soon as she found them "But you have to put these on."

Aurora grumbled. "This is payback, isn't it?"

"No..." the Doctor promptly put them on her and barely held his laughter in when he got a good look at her. "What do you know? They do make you look like a bug."

"Dad!" she cried.

"Alright, alright, have at it," he stepped aside so she could see the wires. "We need to carefully twist the wires so they'll connect at the end right..." he tried pointing to the itty-bitty hole at the end of the sonic, "...there."

"Easy peasy," Aurora declared. She grabbed clippers and lowered them to the wires.

"Take it slowly," her father warned. "Can't tell you how many times I burned my fingers."

"You don't have to tell me, I can see it."

The Doctor huffed. "Oh, you're a funny one!"

Aurora bared a cheeky smile. "I am, aren't I?"

"Do the wires!"

Aurora giggled but started to focus on the task. The last thing she wanted to do was to ruin her own sonic. "I have to twist..."

"Slowly," the Doctor warned again.

"Mhm," Aurora's tongue stuck out between her teeth the more focused she got. She carefully twisted the wires as her father instructed. She could see the tiny hole and she was proud to say the wires might just fit in.

"You have to hear the click of the wires before you let go," the Doctor said once the wires were close to the hole.

"Got it," Aurora promised. She neared the wires and paid absolute attention. Being so silent had never been her thing. She didn't even know she was capable of it.

And then she heard the click.

"Click?" Aurora's eyes widened, though they were covered by the big goggles over her face. "Click! I did it! Dad, I did it!"

The Doctor couldn't be more proud of his daughter. "You did!"

Aurora dropped the tool with the biggest grin on her face. "I did it!" She pulled off her goggles and chucked them to the table then hugged her father.

"I'm so proud of you, Aurora!" the Doctor hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head. "My girl's a genius!"

Aurora laughed. "Dad, I just plugged in wires. Not exactly a genius moment."

"Nonsense!" The Doctor set her down and gestured to the nearly finished sonic. "This takes genius to build and you had a lot built before I got to it."

Suddenly, they heard the open. Avalon, a very sleepy version of her, walked into the room. "What the hell is going on with this all noise?"

Aurora's face went into full panic when her mother spotted the almost finished sonic between her and her father. "M-morning Mum..."

"My sweet Ava—" the Doctor started but Avalon zipped him with a wave of her hand.

"Don't even try it, Fairy Tale Man," she took in a deep breath before adding, "You know, one good thing about having you around now is I no longer have to pretend that I don't know my daughter is building things behind my back." Aurora squeaked with the revelation. "Now I can sleep peacefully knowing she won't blow herself up..." Of course then a new thought popped into Avalon's head. "Or maybe I should be more concerned that you two might blow yourselves up..." She sighed heavily. "You're both going to kill me."

"Mum, I'm making a sonic screwdriver!" Aurora exclaimed.

Avalon's face fell flat as her eyes landed on the Doctor. He nervously smiled at her. "If she regenerates, I'm going to kill you." She reached for the door and closed it behind her when she left.

"That was her 'go for it!'," the Doctor clapped his hands together.

Aurora laughed at him. "Seriously?"

"Oh yeah, and she was even nice this time. I guess having you around is a safety measure for me," he smirked.

"Dad."

"Just saying. So, shall we finish this?" He turned to the table where the sonic awaited them.

Aurora nodded. "Oh yeah. Let's do this!"

Author's Note:

I thought there needed to be at least a moment between these two to really finish the series xD. And when I say "finish" i mean the term very loosely because I might add more parts who knows.

[teamxdark]

Another ToA trivia/headcanon dump!

Arthur still can’t swim.

Even if they had the option to do so, Arthur and Guin wouldn’t remarry. Neither particularly wanted to get married in the first place and, ironically enough, that mutual understanding is one of the reasons why their marriage is working out so well.

They also have no issues calling each other ‘husband’ or ‘wife’ and use those titles kind of like we would use the terms ‘bro’ or ‘friend’. Neither feels any weight behind the words and they’re fun to joke around with sometimes.

Arthur likes to spend time in the library sometimes. He can only bring himself to read fiction, though. Anything else tends to not grab his attention and then the words blur together and he learns important history and politics better by listening anyway.

Guin never considered her parents to be ‘bad’, but with some distance from them, she’s beginning to realise just how controlling they really were.

Guin spent most of her late teens/twenties sneaking out, going to bars, doing research, flirting and finding treasures. She took a few lovers, male and female, but none lasted long.

Aside from Arthur, Lancelot and Gawain, Guin also enjoys the company of Bedivere and Dindrane. She also flirts with both of them, though she knows that it won’t go anywhere (Bedivere isn’t interested in women, Dindrane is aromantic; both are asexual like Guin and she is very happy to have found more like herself).

Once, while they were hunting emerald shards, Guin’s hair came loose and Gawain rebraided it without a word. Neither have ever brought it up again.

Both Lancelot and Guin have tried to teach Arthur how to dance. He still can’t do it well. Arthur has also tried to teach them both how to breakdance. Lancelot can keep up, but Guin? Can’t do it at all and she finds it exceedingly frustrating.

Basically everyone refers to Yseult as ‘Tristan’s wife’ and only Tristan protests because technically Yseult is still married to her uncle. Yseult doesn’t consider that marriage valid and also calls herself Tristan’s wife. At this point, Tristan only protests out of habit.

I had an excellent pun opportunity to name the Acorn Kingdom ‘Acornwall’ since Sir Tristan came from Cornwall and that was a lost opportunity that I internally weep over.

Bedivere experiences phantom limb syndrome and often reaches out his right arm to grab something before seeing his wrist and having an ‘oh’ moment.

Bedivere also considers his lost hand as punishment for being careless enough to lose it in the first place. His friends (Bors, Gawain, Gaheris, Guin) are all very concerned by this and are trying to break him out of that mentality. It’s a work in progress.

Only Bedivere knows that he is a trans man. He figures that, so long as others recognise him as male, that’s all that’s important. All the same, he does give Galahad some pointers on voice training, and Galahad is amazed at how much he knows about it.

Galahad knew that he was a boy pretty much from the day he learned about gender.

Percival, on the other hand, took a lot longer to realise she was a girl. She put the pieces together when she was about ten, but didn’t come out and start socially transitioning until she was twelve.

Percival and Lamorak communicated exclusively by letters until they finally met face-to-face when Percival was twelve years old.

Percival and Lamorak are sixteen years apart in age.

Lamorak is actually one of the most powerful knights of the Round Table; he can manipulate gravity to his will... he just chooses not to most of the time. He says it’s because it’s ‘too much effort’ but the truth is that he doesn’t want to become dependent on his abilities.

One of the reasons why Lamorak and Kay get along well is because Lamorak likes to boss people around and Kay had been raised to think of himself as dim-witted and so he seeks out guidance to follow. Their relationship is somewhat codependent and they only realised it when Dindrane entered their group and brought it up. They’re working on it.

Kay also likes being on a team with Tristan, who is a natural leader, for the same reason as above.

Gareth and Gawain are blood-related. Gaheris is adopted. If anyone implies that Gaheris isn’t their ‘real brother’, Gawain punches them and Gareth looks at them in disappointment and it’s hard to say which one hurts more.

Gareth is the oldest sibling (32 by the end of ToA), Gawain is the middle sibling (31) and Gaheris the youngest (29).

Gareth is one of the few who is on friendly terms with Geraint.

Geraint has a very odd way of showing that he cares, and so far, only two people can claim to recognise that; his friend Gareth and his husband Enid. Despite hating his father, Geraint has a soft spot for Galahad as well. Who doesn’t.

Enid was the one to propose. Arthur officiated the marriage. Geraint and Arthur are the only knights to be officially married.

Since all dual-wielders are bisexual, let’s hear it for Gawain, Lamorak, and Tristan!

Bors is the oldest knight at age 35 at the end of ToA.

Smithy didn’t know that his brother and Lancelot were in love, but he also wasn’t surprised when he found out.

Smithy’s current projects are: the usual repairs and upgrades, new swords based off of Galatine and Laevatein, and he’s working on the plans for a prosthetic hand... just in case...

Lancelot realised he was gay when he caught himself staring at Gawain after one of their sparring matches.

Gawain has also had a crush on Lancelot at one point in his life, though it didn’t last long. He’s had many crushes that didn’t last long, from his childhood in Angel Village all the way through his knighthood. It’s part of the reason why his weird feelings for Guin bothered him but ultimately didn’t concern him in chapter 19; he figured they would go away soon enough like all the other times.

Galahad does have a sword, he just prefers using his powers more, especially against numerous foes.

After Gareth and Gaheris left the infirmary, Arthur took Merlina to Nimue so they could discuss magic types and see if Nimue had anything to teach her. After that, Merlina regularly visited Misty Lake as a student.

Guin, despite being foreign, is very popular among Avalon’s populace.

Arthur told Lancelot about Merlina’s vision as well, post-ToA. He did, however, omit one singular detail...

[catalinaroleplay]

Gender & Pronouns: Demi man, he/him or they/them

Date of Birth: February 14th, 1989 (31)

Place of Birth: Catalina Island, California

Neighborhood: Avalon

Length of Residency: Native — Returned January 2020

Occupation: Former Child Actor

Face Claim: Oliver Jackson-Cohen

BIOGRAPHY

TRIGGERS: Drug Use, Alcoholism, Violence, Rehab, Divorce.

From the moment Nath could think, he’d known himself to be something in between a shadow and a cloud. A constant ebb and flow between two states, he is neither a fully-formed being nor a person of his own, for his birth had been to plug the hole of whatever had been left behind of Audrey Edelstein’s heart. A life shrouded by the black cloak of death, the woman had nowhere else to give her love but inwards, and out of her projections, Nathaniel is born. 

A birth, marked by the death of others, he shoulders his mother’s pain. 

And life is a show for young Nathaniel , who’d always felt more comfortable wearing another’s skin than his own. A cry for help from a young wisp of a soul, ephemeral as a cloud of smoke, and Audrey, ever-encouraging towards her young child, mistakes his precocious ability to chameleon himself into an array of emotions as a want for something bigger. 

Nath likes it enough, of course. But what he likes even more is seeing his mother happy — it isn’t lost on them that she is alone, without a partner by her side. Hints of sadness, the lightest shades of doom coloring her face, all he wants is to see his mother smile. 

Bigger roles come, and so does the media, rabid for the next sweet thing to grace their screens. A rocket ship to fame and riches galore — what more could a young child want? But still far too young, Nath does not understand that all good things must always come at a price. 

Stardom is a deep hole, always starving, always wanting, and it eats Nath alive. Thrown into the pit with no lifeline, how is he expected to crawl his way out? Just fourteen and yet already reeking with desperation, Nath does not know who he is anymore — neither a man, nor a child; not a person, nor a boy. Applauded for a career he does not think he deserves, revered as a genius for feeling less and less like himself every day. If he cannot climb back up, there is nowhere to go but down. It isn’t long before everyone else catches on to the ever-building shit in his life threatening to overflow at any second. 

They call him every name in the book: a wild child, misguided teen, a privileged little fuck. All of it is right in some way, but any intention to stop is always met with another wall of insults by people who never bothered to understand. 

And yet, he supposes he deserves what happens next. The movie had been his last hope ( his mother’s last hope ) to solidify his place in this world. And it all ends with an ill-fated punch to his co-star’s face over an argument that he fails to even recall the next few days — a fight stemming from a drunken stupor, it is the last straw. Already sixteen and they send him away to an isolated treatment facility for three months. The last face he sees is of hers, tear-stricken and all-too regretful of his ( her ) choices.  A week of the goddamn shakes and sweats, but a lifetime of hunger for something that he can no longer touch. 

Nothing breaks as much as it crumbles over the course of two years. The calls stop coming, and he pulls away from his mother, arguments frequent more than ever and everything dries up like his resolve to climb back up to normalcy. How fickle of the world to think nothing of him, moving on like Nath had never existed in the first place. He doesn’t understand when his mother quietly suggests he find another path, doesn’t understand when he sees that his money is gone. Uncontrollable, spinning out into something, he feels his hand itch towards the bottle. 

The book becomes his anchor. A way to hang onto whatever little narrative he still has control over — he goes for the one thing that young Nath had been determined to protect: his mother. 

Ghostwritten by another, titled Rich Privileged F*ck, as an homage to his most notorious of nicknames, Nath finds the spotlight once more. Of course it’s the mother; it’s always the mother, leading their poor child down the wrong path. 

What comes after, is a blur. 

He is alone. Painfully, undeniably, wholly alone. A single pillar in a desert, he falls back to the devilish comforts of alcohol and everything else that could numb him from the pains of living. Always so sensitive, always so soft, but the world could not see it. After all, what faces the world is the picture of someone erratic and cold, without any regard for the charmed life he has been given — so what else is there to do? Walking into the dark is the easiest when everyone is guiding you from behind, so that is what he does. 

Washed-up, with royalties running thin, he is given one last chance. Ten years and nine different agents; ten years and countless of interviews done under the influence — a single person. A new agent. It is all that he needs. A person to believe that he can pull himself from the pit he dug for himself so long ago. They say to never put your sobriety on anyone else, but he gets better for them anyways. After all, they had their own demons to conquer, and there is no better way to overpower them side-by-side, with another. 

And yet — how can he save another when he can't even save himself?  

He lapses. And he lapses. And again and again until six hundred and some days pass and he is back in the pit. A hand is extended once more, before it is gone — and ironically enough, it is enough to push him into sobriety. 

At the end, Nath moves back to the island. Quiet and unassuming, he is assigned another agent — this time, they say, it’s his last. Nothing else to do but scrape up the remnants of his career, to sort through the rubble, to find out what they can salvage. 

If there is anything he has control over, it is his ability to capture media attention. His baggage is heavier and more visible than most, and his agent draws up a contract. A year-and-a-half of his life for a chance at forgiveness for what he has done. 

Eleanor Hirsch is in some ways, the exact opposite of him — though she’s had her fair share of media attention, her life is, for the most part, private. The vultures could speculate all they wanted, but they would never eat her alive like they’d done with him. 

So what better way to drum up publicity than to have them date? Ellie would receive a hefty amount of attention, all the while without sacrificing her personal life — only carefully crafted media posts and strategically placed paparazzi. And for himself, a renewed image painted in sobriety, approved by an award-winning actress to boot. 

Nath, as always, is indifferent. He will do it, because someone has told him to do it, and he will continue his career, because what other choice does he have? A chameleon, a trail of smoke, a puff of air — Nath knows everything in life is impermanent. 

Sometimes, when he sits by the beach, he wonders if he will blow away and become one with the wind.

PERSONALITY

Positive: Independent | Observant | Protective

Negative: Aloof | Possessive | Gullible 

Nathaniel Edelstein is portrayed by Say.

[koszmar-zycie]

All of the fun, random questions! Do it!

Oh lawdy! To quote Ace Ventura: “Aaaaaalrighty, then!” - Apologies for the janky post, since I can’t space them without the site making the numbers all screwy.

Do you have any “yeah I’m good at it but I hate it” kind of skills? - hmmmm. To be honest, leading. If you buy into horoscopes, I’m a Dragon. And maybe it’s natural, maybe it’s theatre experience. But when I apply myself as a leader, I do AMAZING. The issue is that I generally like to be a support. Sometimes I like leading, but usually I’m not into the idea of being this focus or figurehead guiding the way as the leader. Whether projects or even fun, I tend to fall into a like... intermediate leadership role at best. 

If you could make one type of food cease to exist, what would you banish? - To be honest, I can’t do that. Even foods I’m not fond of are foods, and I would be remised if I were to remove any.  

You’re allowed to know everything about one highly specific thing/topic. What would you choose? - Deep sea thermal based biology. The deep sea is my 100% very favorite place on Earth. If I die and there’s an afterlife, I want endless ocean of all kinds. If I’m reincarnated, I want to be a Dragonfish or something. At any rate, I would do anything to have such a wealth of knowledge. Especially about something as fascinating to me as the ins and out of how the deep sea creatures that survive and thrive around the *extreme* heat and pressure of the vents. 

What’s a fictional character who you want to be like? In what way do you want to be like them? - I would love to be like Nathan Ford from Leverage. I want to be able to live my life as freely and wildly as he (though maybe not as illegally lol), and also pursue what I feel is right for me. Live through and persevere through hardship as well as he, even if he struggled.

If you had to live in and not leave a city for the rest of your life, what city would you choose? - That would be a VERY hard call between Avalon on Catalina Island USA, or Sedona, Arizona. While Sedona overall has more of what I love, Avalon has the sea. And I’d probably die without my ocean. 

Do you tend to say what you’re thinking? What would people think of you if you did the opposite?  - Usually, yes. But in a careful way. It WILL happen periodically, because I’m also an emotional hunk of waste. But in general I do a decent enough job of being honest without being harsh about it. When I’m provoked or something really gets to me, then I can just vent without thinking.

Is there anything that you’ve done/experienced so much you hate it now? Easiest to come up with are like, food or music. - Hmmm. Not really. Halloween got SEVERELY killed for me, though. I still like it, but Haunt people are by and large the most obnoxious and hypocritical. Since I adore haunt, I HAVE to deal with them. Hatred for Christmas and other holidays while spouting about Halloween has drained my interest in Halloween. So yes an no, because that’s really OTHER people killing it for me. But I’m also sort of involved because of my love of the haunt business.

Were you afraid of anything “silly”/irrational as a child that you’ve since outgrown? - Deep water. As a kid I HATED the deep end of pools. Now I’m obsessed with deep water and the dark, unknown, crushing depths. Funny how things work out! I used to hate going near the slope in a pool if it was even a little dark (lighted pools were fine). Now, the only thing stopping me from just continuing to swim down if I go diving is my tank limits.

If you were to impart one moral lesson (think Aesop’s fables, Golden Rule, etc) on the world, what would it be? - Treat others as you wish to be treated. It’s SO easy to say, and yet nobody does it. 

If you were a DND character or a game character (or something like that) what would your highest stat be? What would you want your highest stat to be? What about the lowest, to both of those? - HA. I think about this way too much. I’d be a sea elf druid. STR 10 INT 12 CHA 16 DEX 12 END 18 WIS 18 - If I were to apply myself logically as an analog of myself, I’d have good durability and understanding and social capability (again, in specific regards), but my outward strength and dex would be kinda average. I like to think that I’m decently intelligent, as I LOVE books, learning, and figuring things out. But I’m also far from genius. Hence my focus on Wisdom. I’m also surprisingly dexterous, but in certain circumstances more than others, so that’s also pretty average. I don’t think I’ve really have any “bad” stats, but I’d definitely mix average with a couple high ones.

Is there anything you judge others for when you probably shouldn’t? - Probably. I have a huge mistake of expecting others to be courteous and offer a common decency/open perspective on things.

Who are “your kind” of people? - Goths and hippies, my friend. If you want to know my style? Goth Druid. lol 

If you had to come up with your last words right now… what would they be? - “Don’t regret not accomplishing what you set out to accomplish. Regret having not tried. I do not regret trying, even if I did not succeed.”

Do you have any “weirdly strong” opinions about things that don’t really matter? - This is VERY obscure (I have others, but it’s late and this came to mind first) But if you play Fate Grand Order.... SET YOUR GOD DAMNED SUPPORTS.

Your goal is to completely confuse the people around you in as short a time as possible– what do you say/do? - Honestly, just start quoting Lorne from Season 5 of Angel. Or act like a Malkavian. One of my VTM characters was a Malkavian who got in a fight with a parachute he had. Her name was Kitten.

What’s the most comfy place you’ve been in? - I don’t know, actually. Maybe the Luxe Hotel in LA during Anime Expo?

Did you have any “silly” beliefs as a kid? Where did they come from (parents, friends, out of nowhere, etc)? - Not that I know of. At least in terms of anything that’d have changed or something. I’m sure there’s Something, but I honestly can’t dig anything up in my memories.

If you were to add or remove one physical feature to yourself… what would it be? Can be from animals, can be from imagination… whatever. - Hahaha, I ALWAYS think about this one. Right now, I’d want maybe the electro-vision of sharks. 

What could you happily give a two hour lecture on? - Ocean conservation, and what’s correct and what isn’t.

What would a mirror opposite version of yourself be like? It doesn’t necessarily have to be an evil version– any feature can be reflected! - Someone who’s mostly optimistic. More bright colors than dark, short hair. Focused on socializing and extroverted. More than happy in one place forever, without an interest in travel. 

What’s an occasion you’ve done a double take? - Anime Expo a number of times. Seeing weird or unexpected, or legendary cosplays. 

If you could only see one color (and its varying shades– dark/light) for the rest of your life… what would you choose? - Blue. Guess that was probably obvious. But it’s a cool color and associated with calming. Between dark midnight and navy blues to vibrant aquamarines pressing towards green (without actually going into it), I feel like there’s a happy spectrum of all kinds that would be enough to get through without going too crazy.

Do your friends all share certain qualities? Major or minor! - Despite my.... unique personality, and preference towards quiet etc (INFJ), I have a lot of radically different kinds of friends. I honestly don’t think I could put any one thing down. Other than that I choose my friends carefully on who I think I can trust and is a good persona at heart. To a sufficient degree anyway. That’s also a huge part of my downsides, too. By being sensitive (and having certain conditions), when a friend does something that hurts me, it REALLY hurts.

How do you motivate yourself to do things? - Oh man, that’s funny. It is entirely circumstantial. As an artist/writer/creative (I use artist in the broad sense, but I figured I’d add that to help specify) I can VERY easily just have motivation on a moments notice. So it’s often pretty random. But if not, I jut need to think of why. I Looooooove gardening. Weeds need pulling? I think about what’ll happen if the roses or tomatos or lemon tree don’t get their water because of weeds sucking it up. Need to write? I’ll never leave my creation for *any*one if I don’t at least crack down on notes, and make slow and steady progress if nothing else. It’s usually just a small thing I think of to act as a spark, but it’s usually very effective.

What’s one of your favorite jokes? Tell it to us!  - Okay, so this isn’t a joke, but it’s seriously STILL making me laugh just thinking about it. I was going to reference an old comedian in a previous post (I didn’t end up doing it, but still). Anyway, I was really confused as to why I couldn’t find him in google. It turns out, instead of looking up “Groucho Marx”, I was googling “Marco Grouch”. LOL That’s probably not quite as funny to y’all, but for some reason it’s killing me. XD

Hooooooeeee! Well, that was long, but actually really fun! Thank you @scatteredstoryteller! That was like... an essay. lol But definitely fun. I love asks. XD

[witchynyx]

Advice for Beginners

I recently made this post for the influx of beginners to some witchy aminos, but thought I’d share here in case it’s helpful as well. It can definitely be overwhelming when you’re new to everything and really don’t even know where to start, so I thought I'd put together a few pointers to hopefully help out on your way.

Witchcraft vs Wicca vs Paganism

You'll see these words a LOT, but not always with enough information to distinguish between them.

PAGANISM refers to religions which are non-Abrahamic (the Abrahamic religions being Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), but particularly to polytheistic religions (ie religions with many gods) from pre-Christian Europe.

NEO-PAGAN religions are newer religions based on older pagan religions or ideals, or around nature worship.

WICCA is a neo-pagan religion (founded in the 1950s) which worships a God and Goddess and observes 8 seasonal celebrations (sabbats).

WITCHCRAFT is a magical practice, which can be practised with or without religion.

Read (Critically)

We have access to so much information! However most information regarding witchcraft is some level of subjective, and a lot of folks present their take on the topic as objective fact, which can be super confusing when you're first starting out. Read from a wide range of resources, and know that information will be conflicting, but that doesn't necessarily mean one's right and one's wrong.

Paths and Labels

Everyone's path is different - we're different people with different lives and different histories. That said, there are a few more well-trodden directions than others, particularly for those with a teacher, or who follow a particular tradition. Some of these might also be inspired by the types of magic you choose to practice. There are a lot of words/labels people use to describe their practice to others, and lots of newbies feel like you need to jump straight in and find labels before you have any practice to describe. If you feel super drawn to one type of practice or another, that's rad! Otherwise, I 100% recommend not picking one (ie being eclectic) and exploring everything that interests you. You'll wind up where you belong, and limiting yourself early on isn't usually too helpful.

Tools

What tools do you need to start? Literally none! The only thing you 100% need is your own mind and will, everything on top of that is just a bonus. Yes, a lot of us like to buy pretty things, but you really don't need to. If I was going to suggest a "starter kit": a notebook (see below), a pen (for taking notes, journalling, drawing sigils), some candles (cheap white candles will get you started with candle magic), salt (table/cooking salt is fine, just don't use salt outside), herbs (whatever you've got in your kitchen/garden, or can buy rosemary cheaply from the supermarket to use in place of any herb), and maybe a quartz crystal if you want to go really wild (clear quartz can be used in place of any other crystal). Otherwise, you can use pretty well literally anything in magical practice, and also find pretty well anything you need from nature (even in the city, more often than you'd expect). Unless you've got the money to burn, I'd recommend not buying things unless you KNOW you're going to use them.

Magical Books

Most folks will keep some kind of book to record the things they learn, do, and experience in their practice, often called a Books of Shadows (BoS) or Grimoire. A BoS is usually more personal (eg journalling, recording spellwork) than a Grimoire (more generic and objective information), but you can more or less use the terms interchangeably. You can create your book in literally any notebook, although some folks use a binder, or keep theirs digitally. You don't *need* one, but it's nifty to keep track of info, and have something to look back on later to see how far you've come!

Recommended Resources

“Grovedaughter Witchery” by Bree NicGarran - There is honestly no book I can recommend more highly, if I had the funds I would honestly buy a copy for every new witch.

"Wicca" and "Living Wicca" by Scott Cunningham, followed by anything else of his (even if you’re not Wiccan;

"Supermarket Magic" by Michael Furie - a great intro to the practical side of witchcraft (and it uses things that you can buy from the supermarket);· YouTube (I'd recommend Witch of Wonderlust, Avalon Cameron, Owlvine Green)

Your library! Check out any physical and digital collections you have access to (ebooks can be read on a phone/tablet/computer) - if they don't have books specifically on witchcraft, they're still likely to have books on astrology, herbalism, mythology, astrology, gardening, cooking, crafts, psychology, plant identification, local history, aromatherapy, philosophy, and possibly crystals, tarot, and other forms of divination.

Internet Sacred Text Archive (digitised copies of old and publicly available works)

Project Gutenberg (free ebooks, mostly old (copyright expired))

Kindle store/app: free on mobile, some free ebooks, but also free previews of books (so you can check it out before you buy a copy).

Hopefully this helps start some folk on their way!

💜  

[morsking]

SHIROUPOSTING TIME

when shirou projects caliburn rather than excalibur in unlimited blade works despite being aware saber does in fact wield excalibur after watching her fire it off earlier in the fate route it is symbolic of shirou proving himself worthy of being saber’s master very much like when saber herself pulled caliburn from the stone to prove herself the rightful heir to the throne of britain. caliburn is one of the heroic relics definitive of king arthur right alongside excalibur itself, so for shirou to wield it means he has become a hero just like arturia did in her youth. the sword of selection is a test to prove one’s mettle as a force of all that is righteous, it is that first step of journeying from adolescence to adulthood, which is why caliburn appears to shirou in his dreams from the very beginning of the fate route. it is a mental image urging him to grow up, to break out of his immaturity and make his ideal come true in the mature form of acting upon them. PROVE this borrowed ideal can be yours. PROVE that a fake can surpass the original.

HOWEVER, while he CAN project it, meaning he can borrow its concept and make it tangible, he CANNOT lift it on his own nor can he activate its true power without arturia. it is only together that they are able to beat berserker, it is the symbolic union of the wielder of the sword of selection (the immature hero who has yet to perform his deeds) with the wielder of the sword of promised victory (the accomplished hero who has already gone down in history). it is shirou’s future and artoria’s past bringing them together in the present, and it is the moment shirou proves his true strength lies in treating arturia as his equal that makes him worthy and heroic. this is in stark contrast with kiritsugu’s treatment of saber. because he would not meet saber halfway, because he insisted on treating her as a tool and a weapon DESPITE depending on her strength to get him as far as he did in the holy grail war, kiritsugu still failed miserably and lost everything while scarring saber even worse than she had already been.

nasu creates a rather subversive scenario of a common shounen trope: the trope of the lone male hero becoming powerful on his own and defeating his obstacles with his own strength. in the fate route, shirou doesn’t overcome berserker by himself, he and saber rely on each other to achieve victory, this cooperation reiterated when faced against gilgamesh in the fuyuki bridge. it was UNTIL shirou used saber’s power to project avalon from within himself that gilgamesh could be defeated. 

to nasu, the unworthy hero is found in gilgamesh, a tyrant who has no regard for the lives he attempts to subjugate or destroy. gilgamesh attempts to annihilate shirou and overpower arturia with enuma elish, his crowning, dare i say defining, symbol of his deeds, and has its blow not only deflected, but fundamentally rejected by shirou’s avalon which is used to protect a weakened, nearly dying saber. this is shirou spitting in the face of everything gilgamesh represents, the tyrant who abandoned his role as humanity’s liberator to become humanity’s slaver. the message here is pretty clear: the worthy (true) hero uplifts, the unworthy (fake) hero dominates. 

[wrestlingisfake]

AEW Fake Rankings, 2/7/2020

Men’s singles division - babyfaces

Jon Moxley

Cody Rhodes

Dustin Rhodes

Darby Allin

Joey Janela

Men’s singles division - heels

Chris Jericho (men’s world champion)

PAC

MJF

Sammy Guevara

Kip Sabian

Unranked: Orange Cassidy, QT Marshall

I’d prefer to see more depth in this division, but I have to give AEW credit for building up the undercard guys.  A year ago I think everyone was hoping they’d score a bunch of big names from WWE, so when they rolled out with the likes of Guevara, Allin, Janela, and Sabian, it was sort of like “uh, who?”  But now I can’t imagine AEW without those guys--they’re far more over than similar WWE projects like Humberto Carillo and Shorty G.

Something to keep an eye on is who they groom to challenge for the world title at Double or Nothing II in May.  I doubt the winner of Jericho vs. Moxley on February 29 is going to get an immediate rematch.  Cody’s storyline prevents him from getting that shot, and it’d take a big push to get the other babyfaces ready for the role.  MJF or PAC could easily be ready, but I think Jericho will still be champion and a heel vs. heel match would be rough.  Kenny Omega is currently doing tag team stuff but they can always pull him back for a title match, although it feels too soon for that.

Men’s tag team division - babyfaces

Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (tag team champions)

SoCal Uncensored - Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky & Christopher Daniels

The Young Bucks - Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson

Best Friends - Chuck Taylor & Trent Beretta

Private Party - Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen

Jurassic Express - Luchasaurus & Jungle Boy & Marko Stunt

Men’s tag team division - heels

Proud-N-Powerful - Ortiz & Santana

Lucha Bros. - Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix

The Butcher & The Blade

The Hybrid 2 - Jack Evans & Angelico

There’s been a lot of speculation about Page turning on Omega to set up a singles match, although Page is so over with his “hold my beer” act that it’s hard to tell what the plan was and whether they’ll stick to it.  Personally I’m thinking Omega and Page could face the Lucha Bros. on 2/29, and the blowoff to Page’s storyline will be a reconciliation with his buddies.  But my instincts are based on WWE history, and AEW isn’t afraid to defy those expectations.

Women’s singles division - babyfaces

Riho (women’s world champion)

Hikaru Shida

Kris Statlander

Yuka Sakazaki

Big Swole

Women’s singles divison - heels

Nyla Rose

Britt Baker

Mel

Unranked: Brandi Rhodes

I don’t think there’s any denying that the AEW women’s division has been a massive disappointment.  The joshi stars appear too infrequently, the in-ring quality hasn’t been quite up to the WWE/NXT standards, and the storylines have ranged from middling to...well, whatever it is Brandi has been doing for the past 10 months.

I’m not sure what they could have done differently, or what they can do going forward.  The talent pool is what it is.  They’re not going to get Tessa Blanchard, Kylie Rae, or anyone from WWE, so there’s no point wishing they would.  If they go all-in on intergender matches, and introduce a mixed tag team title, then maybe more women would be featured, and wrestling key male talent would get them more over.  But I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that to get approved.

No TV or PPV matches in 30 days: Alex Reynolds, Bea Priestly, Brandon Cutler, CIMA, Emi Sakura, Evil Uno, Jake Hager, Jimmy Havoc, John Silver, Leva Bates, Luther, Michael Nakazawa, Penelope Ford, Peter Avalon, Sadie Gibbs, Shanna, Shawn Spears, Sonny Kiss, Stu Grayson, The Bunny, Wardlow

This is a staggeringly long list of underutilized people for a company that just got started.  Admittedly, a lot of them have been featured regularly on the YouTube show AEW Dark.  TNT wants a second AEW series, so I would imagine a lot of the talent you see on Dark will end up appearing there.  You have to have curtain jerkers and jobbers, obviously, but it’s okay to put them on Dynamite once in a while, so your primary audience doesn’t forget the exist.

Part-timers: Billy Gunn, Dallas Page

Inactive

Awesome Kong (storyline injury; filming GLOW)

Kong plays Tamme Dawson on GLOW, which is shooting it final season soon, so the company presumably knew months ago that they’d be writing her out of storylines for a while.  So I don’t understand why they wrote her out so abruptly, following weeks of the Nightmare Collective farting around with no clear direction.  If AEW has scrapped that whole fiasco, then I guess there’s no use in continuing to complain about it, but I’m still baffled about what they thought they were doing with all that.

[cyberneticlagomorph]

The view is breathtaking to say the least, the ever revolving waltz of the cosmos plays silent witness to your approach, your breath misting on the thin, cold air as you glide through the starless patch of emptiness, known only as the Lawless. You have a ranch here, if you could call it that, a full lightminute’s worth of outer space to call your own.

Something is singing somewhere, beckoning, wheeling through the dark, and dusty strip of a far off asteroid field, a Shooting Star perhaps? You pay it no mind, you just circle the collection of awkward, chitinous spires anchored to the shattered remains of a long dead moon by the shed shell of a young Courier. Something bitter unfurls inside of you. 

The ghosts of memories, not yet dead, seek to torment you. White rooms and examination tables. Text redacted, reformatted. That facility was hell, more than any others you’d been in. And it’s going to stay with you, for the rest of your life, while she gets off scot fucking free.

 This is way more than she deserves.

Dust swirls lazily around your ankles as you land, wings tucking against your back so tightly they disappear completely. There is a walkway, leading up to what’s left of the Courier’s shell, a doorway sits snug in the chitin, easily missed by untrained eyes. Absently, you think about painting or carving it into something pleasing, maybe even homey. You stop yourself, fingers running over the chitin, imagining what it could be, and frown. You open the door, eager to stop wasting time in the cold. It’s warm inside, and brightly lit by glass bulbs full of bioluminescent algae. 

The floor shimmers, sections of chitin and polished stone Shaped together haphazardly with the use of your Amalgamy, a quick and dirt mosaic to break up the monotony of the interior’s design. Beneath the vaguely blue glow of the algae-lights, the walls and floor dance with cool colors brought out by tender fingers. There are swirls of violet coursing through the gleaming black of the chitinous walls, hints of blue too, all coaxed out of hiding by your hand.

The interior of this place, if your own creation, every room hand sculpted by you and your Amalgamy. The Red Science, the study of Shaping and Being Shaped, of breaking the Chain. It’s a forbidden science, one you’ve taken very well to, considering you yourself are an aberration Shaped by science. A different science, but science nonetheless. 

Motion further down an empty corridor interrupts your thoughts. A flash of red hair, gangly limbs, all turning to smoke. You stiffen and walk faster, your prey finally in sight.

Moira.

Internally, you kick yourself, hate yourself for the moment of weakness you showed back at Avalon. You had her there, life in your hands, blood on your knuckles. You could have ended her, ended THIS. But you hesitated, you remembered the days before she hurt you. So you let her live, you brought her here, where no one would find her, and you started building her a home. You can lie to yourself all you’d like, but that’s what it is, a gallant mansion of chitin and stone in the deep, beautiful reaches of space. Call it a gilded cage if you want, but there’s too much love poured into it for it to be a proper punishment of any kind.

She’s a mess when you find her, a bruise-mottled specter of herself, wrapped half-assedly in bandages and misplaced bravado. It’s a miracle she’s conscious, let alone standing. But there she is, defying the odds in that arrogant, stubborn way she always does. Everything has to bend to her will, even her own broken body. It’s infuriating, even more so than the way you instantly fall into the role of caregiver. How you instantly fall over yourself to please, to coddle, to love. 

Moira is, and always will be the object of your pity, something long misconstrued as love. Your expression must have changed, must have melted into that warm, stupid stare you used to give her, because she narrows her eyes and she fucking sneers. That alone pushes all thoughts of comforting her out of your mind. 

“Look at you, already wasting away without me.” The words fall out of your mouth before you can stop them. It’s mean, and a bit ironic since you’re the one that kicked her ass, but it’s (sort of) true regardless. That’s what drew you to Moira, her inability to care for herself, oh sure she’s dangerously clever, but she can’t cook to save her life. Or remember to eat, or sleep, especially when she’s knee deep in her work. So you’d remind her, you’d help her along, leave her things in the fridge, drag her to bed by the tie if you had to. And it had worked, for a little while, until she hurt you and you left.

Her sneer twists into something vaguely amused, “Oh, I am wounded.” She coos sardonically, “Does the little bunny think that his care is still needed? Nevermind effective?”

Ah, she hit a nerve. Of course she did, she’s always known how to get under your skin, figuratively and literally. Your ear twitches, betraying your neutral expression, “My care has always been effective, all my other partners have benefited from my care, you’re just an outlier.”

A grin, all sharp teeth and black gums, bruise-purple glows in the back of her mouth as she speaks, and flickers among the abyss of her sclera, “Oh? So your little experiments have come to fruition at last. We’re not so different, you and I, Jack.” She takes an unsteady step closer, and you flinch, “Misunderstood scoundrels of different areas of knowledge… but both oh so good at our thing. Oh so passionate.”

A rip-saw snarl tears its way up your throat, your own biolume igniting with icy fire, making you look otherworldly. It frames your teeth and lights up your eyes, burning you up inside just as much as the anger Moira’s barbs have stoked, “I am NOTHING like you.”

Moira tucks her hands behind her back, suddenly looming over you. Smoke leaks from her mouth and nostrils, lending weight to her words somehow, “Is that so, Jack? But were you never curious? Wanted to know something about someone? ‘Can I fatten them up? Change them? Make them to my liking?’ Have you never planned how to try it and wordlessly put it into action? Nevermind the consequences, you must know.”

She leans forward, bringing herself to your eye level in the most demeaning way possible. She smells like blood, like herbal cigs and shitty, stale coffee. You used to love those smells, but now they just make you sick. She tilts your chin up with one of her claws, her face is way too close to yours. You feel sick, so sick. Stop touching me stop touching me GET AWAY GET AWAY GET AWAY

“Was I not your darling pet project? Much like you were, and forever will be mine.”

You teleport without thinking, blinking several feet away, just out of her reach. You’re shaking, shaking so hard. Don’t throw up, DON’T THROW UP.

She seems smug, more than her usual aura of general smugness. “Keeping me here, won’t do you any good, I had reasons for keeping you in the lab, reasons that would benefit humanity. You on the other hand, have nothing.”

“Oh but this will benefit others, you’ll never hurt anyone, ever again.” It sounds like a lie coming from your trembling lips, but you try hard to believe it’s true, that keeping her here was a good idea. She scoffs, but you’re not all together here anymore, no, you’re drifting away, viewing all of this from behind the mask of your own face as the numbness sets in. Moira saying something about how this hurting others thing is nonsense, sacrifices are always made for the greater good.

You flinch as if struck. That struck another nerve, you’ve been told that verbatim by every researcher, every medic, every anything that’s ever hurt you for science. For the greater good of humanity. 

 “We are creatures that hurt, Jack. We hurt each other endlessly. Porcupines huddling together. All we can do is choose how we are hurting one another and why. I picked genetics. Picked to use my sins for a greater good. Cures for diseases, prosthetics with new technologies, ways to offer everything available to regular people today to the magical folks like you. To see how magic and technology can mesh together. To open up possibilities like never before.” A pause, a smile, “Is that not great, Jack? Not incredible?” 

“Why are you choosing to hurt your loved ones? There is little more  to this than revenge. But your satisfaction. And I won't complain- oh, no. But not because this is fair or just. Because I love you dearly. And love all data you've given me. And all I've become from you.” She means it, in her own little twisted way, she means every word that spills from her chapped lips. You hate it, and it’s very hard for you to hate anything, anyone, but you do. In that moment there is nothing in this universe, or any other, than Moira and her words. You move without realizing, hand at her throat, lifting her off the floor to slam her into a nearby wall hard enough to make the contents of the cabinets rattle. You’ve grown, stretched into a physical testament of your hatred. 

Moira remains stoic. The only change in her expression is a faint hint of annoyance and a quirked eyebrow, it doesn’t change, not for a long time, not even when your snarl and start to squeeze.

You both know that she could Fade out of your grasp if she wanted, but she doesn’t, she lets you put her hands on her and seems to savor your touch in a way that makes the violence you want to inflict seem almost erotic. She smiles at you, with those unnaturally sharp teeth, the faint purple tint of her lips make her look more corpselike than usual, a smug banshee on her deathbed. Dancing on the knife’s edge of fate.

"For all your wisdom, your incomprehensible IQ and all the data at your disposal, and you're still dumb enough to think that I still love you?" Your voice sounds strange, deep and menacing, "That I ever loved you? If anything I pitied you and your obvious inability to take care of yourself, your astonishing ability to cling to those that no longer want you. If you were my loved one, I'd've given you the mercy of a quick death, but all the hatred I have for you refuses to grant you that kindness "

A snort, a flash of teeth and a wheezing attempt at a laugh, "Allow me a fantasy, won't you?" But otherwise, her tone is unshaken. Her expression is vaguely amused. "I think, Jack. This little tirade is one of the most precious bits of information you could have ever given me. Our little talk is over. Play with me as you will- I am done here."

You could kill her, you could finally END THIS. 

You should.

You want to.

But you won’t, because she’s right. Every last fucking word out of that ugly maw of hers is right and you HATE. IT. 

You drop her unceremoniously to the ground, and deflate back into your normal self. You are broken, shards of a person thrice mended, struggling to come together. Logic dictates that if you want to stop being something people break, you should turn those shards outward, use them like armor. 

But you refuse, you always refuse.

To grow back sharp and hard would be the death of you, in a world already so jagged, who needs one more knife to cut themselves on. 

You are soft, you respond to those that hurt you with kindness you know that they do not deserve. 

You FORGIVE.

Something that should be beyond you by now. But it isn’t, and it never will be. You swallow the inferno of your ire, until all that’s left is dying embers. You run your hand on your scalp, wincing at the peach fuzz that greets you, it will grow back, softer than before. Just like you.

You look at Moira, long since dragged herself to her feet, rubbing her throat idly, and you sigh. 

“You really are pathetic, aren’t you? You aren’t some scientific martyr, Moira, just a sick impatient woman, who’s lived her life precariously piling up crates of exciting toys you’ve made for yourself. Someone who could never cooperate with others to gain even the slightest scientific footing, before jumping into whatever your whims dictated.”

That wipes the amusement from her face, leaving her stunned enough for you to continue uninterrupted, you sat there and listened to her dissect you, now it’s YOUR turn to show her what it’s like, “You’re just a spoiled child tinkering with what you don’t understand, someone with too much power and too little sense.”

She flinches, and oh how delicious it feels. You don’t stop, you can’t stop, not now, “So this,” You gesture at her new home, “This is your due. A room where you can play scientist, your very own padded cell.”

Moira opens her mouth to spit what you’re sure is a venomous retort but you cut her off before she can utter a syllable, “That’s what you really are, Moira, you may talk about the greater good and the advancement of mankind-- but you’re really just making excuses for yourself.” Now you’re the one looming, five feet small and she’s shrinking back from you like you’re on fire, “You want to do this fun thing you love, and you want to do it without feeling guilt for all the pain you’ve inflicted on others, on me.” 

Still, she tries to reply, tries to talk back, but you aren’t listening, “You try to justify your atrocities, by casting yourself as some misunderstood crusader of great things, but you’re just an idiot putting the cart before the horse.” Your voice becomes hers, a sharp and bitter mimicry, eerily accurate, “Why, yes! Put cybernetics on magical beings! When we don’t even know what a magical being is, really, or how they exist! Surely the magical part of it won’t affect our data at all!!” It’s your turn to scoff, your voice your own again but no less bitter, “You really just cherry pick what to apply the scientific method on. You act on this hedonist whim, but never acknowledge it. You over indulge in it, and lose sight of everything else… and that was your downfall. Not me, not Avalon, all you and your inability to exercise moderation… maybe you’ll find some out here, in the solitude, we both know you’ll have plenty of it.”

[cursedjustice]

"The joke is your dream is based on a fraud who was never a hero. try basing it on someone who IS a real hero instead of a merciless murderer."- from archer.

“WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?!”

He yelled with a gruff edge in voice ravaged by anger. Every cell in his being was blaze with a the desire to murder than man that dared to utter those words before him. His body shook, his heart raced, his stomach twisted as his body felt like it was burning. His fist clenched and his teeth grit against themselves as he sent the the most wrathful glare at the archer. His mind played the memories he had of Kritisugu Emiya, the man who he idolized as a hero as a kid and even now. To hear HIM of all people say that about his old man set him off in a way Shirou Emiya himself had no idea he could be enraged.

“Kritisugu saved your ungrateful self from the fire. You know how many others he could have saved over your stupid self? You know all those people screaming and crying out in fear and agony as they watched themselves and others around them burn to death? Choke from the thick smoke that burned our lungs as the Grail Mud slowly killed everyone in the area! DO NOT Tell me you forgot how your cowardly self covered your ears to drown out the sounds of agony as you walked through that hell looking for salvation of any kind before passing out with tears in your eyes!” 

“He implanted Avalon inside you that day and saved you. Don’t you get that also meant that day he choose to save you over himself!? You remember that his health would decline each steadily due to that grail mud exposure, right you stupid ingrate? HE could have kept Avalon, lived and let you die along the rest of the ones in the fire! He could have stopped at using Avalon to save you, letting you end of like the orphans in Kirei Kotomine’s Church BASEMENT!  YOU OWE THAT MAN FOR THE LIFE YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW!”

“You never would have meet Saber without him! You wouldn’t have had Fuji-nee without him! You wouldn’t have learned of magecraft at all without him! Without him you wouldn’t have been able to have a home where Sakura could feel safe. A place Rin said felt inviting and warm. A place where Illya could have made peace with him. You wouldn’t have gotten a chance to get revenge and seek justice for all those hurt by the fire that Kirei used for his own gain! NONE OF THOSE THINGS WOULD HAVE BEEN POSSIBLE WITHOUT KRITISUGU EMIYA SAVING YOU!”

“If he had just let you die and entered the next war, Rin would have died along with every other master he was faced against aside from Illya. Saber would have been summoned again by him as well and would haven’t have been able to make peace with her rule or have her heart saved. Though saving Shirou Emiya, he saved those lives and more by proxy. He may have been a Enforcer and he did kill people, but that doesn’t erase all the good he did when he lived! The fact you spit upon all he’s done for you can just reduce him to a murderer, you are by far the WORST Emiya I’ve ever come across.”

“Once the old man heard his adopted son take up his dream to become a hero of justice, he could finally rest in peace. His hope being carried on. I vowed to to help and save as many people as possible, even everyone no matter how impossible it seemed. I am his hope and refuse to allow myself to fade into nothing and to become a  pathetic ingrate like you. You disgust me. If this is how you honor someone choose to save you over themselves; you deserve burn in hell.”

He then turned and began to walk away before he slaughtered the man with every sword he could possibly project from his Reality Marble. 

“You are now a person I could let die countless times and never loose sleep over it or feel guilt. Life and death is too good for you, as was Kritisugu. Take your ungrateful attitude and drown in it.” 

@mortalshinobi